RISK SIGNAL

PATScore™

The condo risk score buyers, boards, and lenders were never given.

A condominium’s real financial condition is buried across its reserve study, audited statements, tax returns, and operating budget — documents most buyers never see and few boards fully read. PATScore distills all of it into a single 0–100 score: a condo CARFAX that tells you, at a glance, how much financial risk you’re actually taking on.

What PATScore Is

PATScore (Property Asset Transparency Score) is a 0–100 rating produced from an independent review of an association’s latest reserve study, audited financial statements, tax returns, and operating budget. It weighs five factors — emphasizing long-term capital sustainability and owner risk exposure — and turns dense documents into one accessible signal a buyer, lender, board, or owner can act on without being an accountant.

What It Measures

Reserve funding adequacy

Is the reserve balance sufficient for the long-term replacement schedule?

Inspection recency

How current is the reserve study’s site inspection?

Funding discipline

Do actual contributions match the recommended funding plan?

Governance practices

Are decisions, controls, and disclosures sound?

Financial reporting quality

Are the audit, tax returns, budget, and reserve study consistent and complete?

The Rating Scale

Scores run from 0 to 100, assigned in 5-point increments, across six rating bands:

Poor
0–25
Weak
30–45
Fair
50–65
Good
70–80
Very Strong
85–95
Excellent
100

Associations rated Poor face substantial unfunded capital obligations, a high probability of special assessments or sharp assessment increases, and elevated risk of deferred maintenance.

Who It’s For

Buyers

Estimate your share of unfunded obligations before you buy.

Lenders

Screen association risk during underwriting.

Boards

Benchmark your association and track improvement over time.

Owners

See what the consolidated summary hides.

How It Works

Step 1

You provide the documents: reserve study, audited financial statements, tax returns, and operating budget.

Step 2

CIA computes the PATScore and writes the report.

Step 3

You receive the PATS Report: score and rating, the five-factor analysis, current and projected unfunded liabilities, the gap between adopted and recommended reserve funding, an owner-exposure note, and association/vendor detail.

See It in the Real World

175 East Delaware Place HOA scored 15 — Poor. Its current unfunded reserve liability is about $30 million, and the association’s own reserve study projects that figure to reach at least $100 million over the 30-year horizon. Its budget funds reserves at $1,020,000 against a recommended $2,453,400 — a gap that would require roughly a 14.6% assessment increase just to reach the (still flawed) recommended path. PATScore made all of that visible in a single number.

As of June 2026, the most expensive condo listing in all of Chicagoland — a 92nd-floor penthouse asking $9.5 million — is in this same building. Its buyer inherits a share of those unfunded obligations. No listing sheet mentions that.

What You Get & Pricing

A PATScore engagement delivers the full PATS Report (a sample is the published 175 East Delaware report) plus the PATScore Reference Guide explaining how the score and bands are calculated. Report fee: $2,000.

The Property Asset Transparency Score (PATS) is an independent analytical assessment based on financial, reserve, and governance information available as of the report date. It does not constitute an audit, appraisal, engineering report, legal opinion, or investment advice. Prospective owners, investors, lenders, and other stakeholders should perform their own due diligence and consult qualified legal, financial, engineering, and tax professionals before making decisions, and should not rely solely on this report.