Great question! A reader asked this yesterday, describing their association as a residential association with many private homes along a common street, with little other common area assets (a gate system and a tot lot).
Today a well-intentioned Boardmember called, asking why he should tell his homeowners that the expensive roof they installed two years ago,
It is as important for our clients to have an accurate expectation of which components they will see in the Reserve Study as it is to expect
You expect your roof to last 20 years, but after 15 years you are having leaks everywhere. Your pool heater is a lemon and after three years you are convinced any more repairs would be a waste of money. Your last paint job is simply not cutting it. You need to spend Reserves earlier than planned. What do you do?
When there is a major component that we know will have some related expenditures but where predicting the size and timing of those expenditures are difficult, we often provide the association an “allowance”, meaning a sum of money every few years to handle estimated periodic expenses related to the component.
Many associations choose to obtain insurance against a possible significant loss: earthquake, flood, wind, or other major catastrophe. Due to the nature of this type of insurance, the deductible is often very large. While insurance is expected to cover the majority of a loss,
