We have talked previously about reserve fund balances or percent funded. To help you better manage your HOA reserve fund balances, here’s a list of tips to take into consideration: Adjust the budget when needed. Most boards are afraid to increase dues just to fund reserves. Increasing dues incrementally over time is better than asking [...]
Simply put, a Capital Needs Assessment (CNA) is a road map to understanding the life expectancy and cost of major items needed to maintain a property. Many public funding sources require non-profit organizations to have CNA's to prove they have the funds to maintain the properties they have. Our inspectors focus on providing a detailed [...]
Reserve studies are a crucial part of financial management for community associations. Despite this, some communities are hesitant about performing one. The following outlines five misconceptions about reserve studies. Misconception 1: Reserve studies are too expensive The cost of a reserve study typically ranges from $2,000 to $5000, depending on the age and complexity of [...]
What is the Lifespan of a Condominium Reserve Study? Today we have client associations who only sign up for us to do a single reserve study and then we don't hear from them for years. The board make think it is being conservative but in reality they are operating using old data as a guideline. [...]
Can HOA capital improvements be paid for from reserves? For purposes of this question we are defining HOA capital improvements as the expenditure of funds for new, not previously existing, components. We frequently get this question from newer clients who usually will have what they consider a surplus in their reserve account. Member look at [...]
A reserve specialist is term used by Community Associations Institute (CAI) to describe a reserve certification they offer. Pacific Crest evaluated getting certified through Community Associations Institute (CAI) but since our Reserve Analysts already exceeded the CAI requirements we felt it didn't offer any benefit A reservist needs a blend of skills to be effective [...]
In Washington State do reserves have to be fully funded? It’s a great question - when you review the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA) it really doesn't say how much an association needs to have. Fully funded is one of the most misused terms in our industry because there is not just one [...]
Do you find that your association constantly has unexpected repair or replacement costs that it doesn't have money budgeted for? Many association boards are afriad to raise dues to the levels needed to avoid special assets and hope nothings breaks until after they are off the board. We refer to this as the "head in [...]
Updated in August 2023 - Hawaii just had a devastating wildfire that killed over 100 people and burned more than 1,100 structures. It was reported at least 6 condominium associations were destroyed and many others had damage. Its unknown if the damaged associations were habitable. Our hearts go out the Maui community and we hope [...]
Sellers and/or their agents are required to disclose what they know about the property under the laws of Washington State. Your real estate agent should be aware of disclosure laws but remember their underlying interest is to sell properties. I frequently see the seller's realtors wait until the last minute to provide the disclosure information [...]
