Association Reserves Midwest
Give predictable repair and replacement costs a clear place in the budget.
Association Reserves helps organizational leaders understand what their properties will require, what it may cost, and how to prepare. Our Reserve Studies connect physical needs with long-term funding so community boards, managers, facility leaders, and other decision-makers have a clear, well-supported plan they can understand, explain, and act on.
Association Reserves has prepared Reserve Studies in the Midwest since 1995 and opened its Chicago office to better serve the region’s growing volume of work. Our Midwest team supports properties across Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
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Roofs wear out. Pavement needs replacement. Mechanical systems age. Interiors, amenities, building envelopes, and other shared assets all have useful lives. The exact timing can change, but the need to plan for them does not.
Across the Midwest, freeze-thaw cycles, snow and ice, and wide seasonal temperature swings affect how pavement, roofs, building envelopes, and other components age. A Reserve Study brings those local conditions together with current costs and the property’s funding position, so leaders can plan from a property-specific view of future needs rather than last year’s budget, a generic percentage, or an emergency response when something fails.
A Reserve Study helps clarify:
The result is a clearer basis for budgeting, setting priorities, discussing tradeoffs, and preparing before predictable expenses become urgent.
Why a Reserve Study Matters
The component inventory identifies the major components the organization is responsible for and the repair and replacement projects that belong in the long-term plan.
The physical analysis connects current condition, remaining useful life, and estimated replacement costs so leaders can see when significant expenses are expected.
The financial analysis evaluates current reserves and recommends a contribution plan designed to keep predictable projects fundable over time.
The right level of service depends on whether reliable reserve information already exists, how current it is, and how much has changed since the last study.
For properties without a reliable existing Reserve Study. The component inventory, physical analysis, and funding plan are developed from the ground up.
For properties that need an on-site assessment of common area components, including their current condition and remaining useful life, along with updated costs and a revised Reserve funding plan.
For properties that need their Reserve Study updated without a site inspection, using information provided by the association to update project history, Reserve balances, replacement costs, and funding recommendations.
A client-assisted option for appropriate properties. The client develops the component information and Association Reserves prepares the financial analysis.
A three-year recurring update option designed to keep reserve information current while creating continuity as leadership, projects, and budgets change.
A Reserve Study should support decisions after the report is delivered. Association Reserves helps clients understand the findings, work through funding questions, and keep the plan current as project timing, costs, reserve balances, and leadership change.
Community managers can also use Association Reserves’ Reserve Study Road Map for Managers, a practical resource focused on using reserve information throughout the year to support budgeting, planning, and conversations with community leaders. The program features Midwest President Co-Lee Grev alongside founder Robert Nordlund.
Professional Association Reserves clients receive access to uPlanIt, an interactive planning tool for testing “what-if” scenarios around funding levels, project timing, replacement costs, and other assumptions. It gives decision-makers a practical way to see how changes today may affect the long-term plan.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have tightened project standards around condominium reserve funding and the reserve information lenders use during project review. For condominium associations and community managers, current, well-supported reserve planning can therefore become relevant to financing and project eligibility as well as long-term budgeting.
Association Reserves maintains a current resource explaining the 2026 changes and what condominium communities should understand as the standards take effect.
The same core planning challenge exists anywhere leaders are responsible for buildings, infrastructure, amenities, and other long-lived assets. Association Reserves serves a range of property and organization types throughout Illinois and the Midwest.
Condominiums, co-ops, HOAs, POAs, PUDs, townhomes, high-rises, and master-planned communities.
Country clubs, golf clubs, yacht clubs, recreation centers, and other member-based facilities.
Churches, synagogues, temples, and other faith communities planning for long-term property stewardship.
Educational institutions responsible for campuses, buildings, infrastructure, and other long-term physical assets.
Government facilities, commercial properties, mixed-use developments, and other organizations with long-term capital needs.
Camps, retreat centers, and charitable organizations responsible for facilities and shared property.
Timeshares, fractionals, travel clubs, vacation clubs, and resort properties.
Decades of experience have shaped a proven approach to turning complex property obligations into practical long-term funding plans.
Recommendations are grounded in detailed property analysis, transparent assumptions, and an independent third-party perspective.
Association Reserves makes complex property and funding information easier to understand, discuss, and apply to real planning decisions.
Education, planning tools, recurring updates, and access to experienced specialists help keep the Reserve Study useful after the report is complete.
Many clients return to Association Reserves as their properties, budgets, priorities, and leadership change over time.
The Midwest team brings experience in reserve analysis and community management. That mix of technical and practical experience helps clients connect the findings in a Reserve Study to the decisions that follow.
President
Co-Lee joined Association Reserves in 2022 with more than 20 years of community association industry experience. Her background includes community management and reserve analysis across HOAs, condominiums, private clubs, churches, campgrounds, schools, and water districts. She also serves on the National Reserve Study Standards Committee.
Project Manager
Charianna brings firsthand community management experience, including budgeting, capital projects, maintenance planning, and board support. Her perspective helps connect long-term funding plans with the day-to-day realities of managing shared property.
Project Coordinator
Bernadeth brings a civil engineering background and experience in construction quality control, site inspections, project coordination, and construction documentation, supporting thorough and well-organized project evaluations.
Illinois law requires boards to provide budgets with reasonable reserves for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance, considering any independent professional Reserve Study obtained, but there is no statutory mandate to conduct Reserve Studies. Requirements and planning expectations may also come from governing documents, lender considerations, or other circumstances. Associations should consult counsel regarding obligations specific to their community.
Reserve Studies are useful for organizations responsible for long-lived property assets and future capital needs. Association Reserves works with community associations, clubs, worship facilities, schools, resorts, camps, commercial properties, municipalities, and other organizations that need a structured way to plan for repair and replacement costs.
A Reserve Study evaluates the components an organization is responsible for, anticipated project timing and costs, current reserve balances, and future contributions. That creates a property-specific basis for deciding what to fund and when instead of relying on a generic percentage or historical budget.
We recommend an Update – With Site Visit every third year, with an Update – No Site Visit in each year between. Property condition, project timing, construction costs, reserve balances, and contributions change every year, so an annual update keeps the funding plan current for each budget. Your governing documents or state law may also set a schedule.
A Full Reserve Study is generally appropriate when there is no reliable existing component inventory. An Update – With Site Visit refreshes the physical and financial analysis. An Update – No Site Visit updates the financial plan when the existing physical information remains sufficiently current.
Yes. The office serves Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
It can. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac project standards include reserve funding and Reserve Study considerations for condominium project review. Association Reserves maintains a current explainer on the 2026 requirements.
Want to learn more before requesting a proposal? Start with these existing Association Reserves resources:
Which Level of Service Is Right for My Property?
What Happens Next?
Three Key Results of a Reserve Study
Major repair and replacement needs are predictable even when exact timing and costs move. A current Reserve Study gives the people responsible for a property a clearer basis for deciding what to fund, understanding why it matters, and preparing before those needs become urgent.
Association Reserves turns complex property obligations into clear funding plans leaders can understand, explain, and act on.
Association Reserves.
Fund honestly. Avoid a crisis.
Co-Lee joined Association Reserves in 2022, bringing over 20 years of expertise in the Common Interest Development industry. She has managed and provided reserve analysis consultations for a diverse range of developments, including HOAs, condominiums, private clubs, churches, campgrounds, schools, and water districts. Since shifting her focus to the Midwest and Northeast, Co-Lee has applied her extensive experience to help associations with long-term planning and sustainability in these regions. For the past two years, she has also served on the National Reserve Study Standards Committee, playing a key role in shaping industry standards. Her professional qualifications include the prestigious Association Management Specialist (AMS) #4859, Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) #1963, and Reserve Specialist (RS) #367 designations, awarded by the Community Association Institute (CAI). Charianna Miller joined the Association Reserves team in October 2023 as a Project Manager and Business Development Manager serving the Ohio and Midwest region. She began her career in San Diego and Orange County, California, where she managed a large portfolio of community associations of varying sizes. In that role, she oversaw budgeting, capital projects, maintenance planning, and board support, giving her firsthand insight into how long-term financial decisions impact the daily operations of a community.
Her background in community association management naturally led her into reserve study work. With experience navigating real-world operational challenges, vendor relationships, and asset maintenance cycles, Charianna brings a practical, management-focused perspective to long-term financial planning. This unique combination allows her to bridge the gap between on-site community needs and strategic capital planning, ensuring clients receive clear, actionable guidance tailored to their specific properties.
At Association Reserves, Charianna manages reserve study projects across the Midwest while also leading regional business development initiatives and supporting industry partnerships.
Bernadeth Arriola is a Civil Engineering graduate who brings hands-on experience in construction quality control, site inspections, and project coordination to her role at Association Reserves. With a strong background in QA/QC and compliance with plans and safety standards, she supports accurate, well-documented, and technically sound project evaluations.
Her experience as a Construction Quality Control Engineer with DMCI Homes and as a Project Site Engineer has strengthened her attention to detail, documentation, and understanding of building systems and construction practices. Proficient in AutoCAD, project scheduling, and construction documentation, Bernadeth helps ensure projects are organized, efficient, and aligned with client expectations.
At Association Reserves, Bernadeth’s technical foundation and commitment to quality make her a valuable resource in delivering reliable, thorough reserve studies that clients can confidently depend on.
