Reserve Study Review
An independent, second-opinion review of your reserve study — before you fund it.
Most boards adopt the reserve study they're handed, assumptions and all. We review it independently — testing useful-life and replacement-cost assumptions, the percent-funded math, and the funding plan — so you know whether your reserves are truly adequate before a shortfall becomes a special assessment.
A second opinion with no vendor ties.
We don't prepare reserve studies and we don't sell reserve products — so our only interest is whether your study's assumptions and funding plan actually hold up.
Independent analysis boards and owners can rely on.
What We Review
Useful-life & replacement-cost assumptions
We test the assumptions that drive the entire study — component inventory completeness, useful lives, and projected replacement costs — against real-world experience, not boilerplate.
Percent-funded & funding adequacy
We check the percent-funded calculation and whether the funding plan keeps pace with the liability — or quietly defers it onto future owners.
Special-assessment risk & intergenerational equity
We model where the plan leaves you exposed to special assessments, and whether today's owners are fairly funding tomorrow's repairs.
Common Reserve Study Problems
A reserve study is only as good as its assumptions, and the same flaws appear again and again. These are the issues an independent review is built to catch:
- Missing major components. Roofs, elevators, plumbing risers, or facade elements left out of the inventory entirely, so the liability is understated from the start.
- Unrealistic useful lives. Components assigned lifespans longer than they will actually last, pushing real funding needs past the planning horizon.
- Understated replacement costs. Outdated or lowball cost estimates that collapse the moment a real bid comes in.
- Inadequate funding plans. Contribution schedules that never close the gap, leaving the association chronically underfunded.
- Ignored tax impacts. Reserve interest income and assessment treatment overlooked, distorting the true funding picture.
- Failure to consider intergenerational equity. Plans that let today's owners underfund repairs and hand the bill to tomorrow's.
What You Receive
- An independent written review of your reserve study and its assumptions.
- A percent-funded and funding-adequacy assessment.
- Reserve cash-flow projections tested against the study's funding plan.
- A plain-language findings memo flagging special-assessment risk.
How It Works
- We gather your documents. The current reserve study, audited statements, budget, and any funding plan.
- We test the assumptions and the math. Component inventory, useful lives, replacement costs, percent funded, and reserve cash flow.
- We pressure-test the funding plan. Where it leaves you exposed to shortfalls, special assessments, or inequity between owners.
- We deliver an independent findings memo. Clear conclusions you can act on and defend to owners.
Who It’s For
- Boards reviewing a new or updated reserve study before they adopt it.
- Associations facing a large reserve-contribution increase or a proposed special assessment.
- Buyers, owners, and lenders who want an independent read on reserve adequacy.
See It in the Real World
Reserve shortfalls rarely announce themselves — they hide in optimistic useful-life assumptions and underfunded plans until a major repair forces a special assessment. An independent review surfaces that risk while the board still has time to act.
How This Differs from Budget Preparation
A Reserve Study Review is an independent second opinion on an existing reserve study — we don't produce the reserve study itself. If you'd rather we build your association's operating budget from the ground up, see Budget Preparation.
Ready for an independent read on your reserves?
Tell us about your association and send your current reserve study. Inquiries go to info@cia.mba.
Common Interest Advisors, LLC provides non-attest forensic accounting and consulting services and is not a licensed public accounting firm. This page is informational and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice.
