Resources · Category
Forensic breakdowns of association budgets, reserve studies, and audited financials — tracing where assessment dollars actually go across the archive.
← All resourcesA look at the reserve and financial disclosures at the former John Hancock Center, and the questions they raise about what owners and buyers actually know.
An examination of how a late fee structure was applied — and the governance questions it raises about who benefits from fee income.
How cable costs were allocated in a way that shifted more of the burden onto certain unit types — and why cost allocation is a financial fairness issue.
A specific example of how the label “current budget” can mean different things in different documents — and why that gap matters to every owner.
Reserve waivers are legal in many states. They are also one of the fastest ways to guarantee a future special assessment. This post explains the math.
How improper tax positions and inflated reserve studies can pass undetected for years — until a sale, a loan, or an audit brings them to the surface.
A forensic review of published guidance identifies three material errors in how the firm described association tax treatment — and flags a conflict of interest.
The association's federal tax positions left owners unable to claim deductions they were legally entitled to — a direct financial consequence of how the taxes were filed.
A look at the banking relationship at 175 East Delaware Place — and the questions it raises about who controls association accounts and what oversight exists.
When reserve investing becomes disconnected from the reserve study, the tax form, and the association's actual long-term funding needs, the results compound against owners.
A case where the amount forgiven in late fees exceeded the amount actually billed — and no one on the board noticed.
When vendor costs are classified as payroll — or management fees obscure the true cost of services — the financial statements stop telling the truth.
Baseline funding, outdated inflation assumptions, and compliance standards that don't require financial viability. A detailed look at the reforms that would actually protect owners.
Illinois law allows associations to adopt budgets and follow governing documents while still being mathematically unable to fund future capital needs.
New underwriting standards from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are scrutinizing reserve adequacy. One major Chicago building funds reserves at roughly half the level its own reserve study requires.
Five years of budget data show a persistent gap between approved reserve funding and what was actually billed — and what that means for owners facing future assessments.
Your association's cash generates real economic value through bank Earnings Credit Rates and treasury-management arrangements. This piece examines who actually receives that value.
A forensic look at how approved budgets, actual billing, and financial reporting quietly drift apart — and how a single building's numbers exposed the pattern.
