From first call to board vote in about four weeks.
A reserve study should not be a black box. Here is exactly what happens, in what order, and what I need from you at each step.
Six steps, no surprises
Timelines shift with property size and how quickly documents arrive, but the sequence never changes.
- 01
Week 0 · 30 minutes
Intake call
We walk through the property, the governing documents, and what prompted the study — a lender, an audit, a looming roof, or just good housekeeping. You get a fixed-fee proposal from this call.
What I need from you
Unit count, number of buildings, and a rough list of what the association maintains.
- 02
Week 1
Document review
I read the declaration and bylaws to establish what is actually a reserve responsibility, then review budgets, reserve balances, prior studies, and any recent capital invoices.
What I need from you
Declaration, current budget, latest reserve balance, prior study, recent project invoices.
- 03
Week 2
Site inspection
A walk of the property with measurements, condition notes, and dated photos of every reserve component. Roofs, pavement, envelope, mechanical rooms, amenities, and the pieces boards routinely forget.
What I need from you
Access to mechanical rooms and roofs, plus an hour from someone who knows the property.
- 04
Week 3
Component inventory
Each component gets a quantity, a unit cost sourced from regional pricing and your own recent invoices, a useful life, and a remaining life grounded in what I saw on site.
What I need from you
Nothing — this is the desk work.
- 05
Week 3
Funding analysis
The inventory runs forward thirty years against your balance and contribution. You see percent funded, the years where cash gets thin, and side-by-side contribution scenarios.
What I need from you
Interest assumption and any planned dues changes the board already has in mind.
- 06
Week 4
Draft, review, and presentation
You get a draft to challenge before anything is final. Then a live walkthrough with the board — I present the recommendation and take the questions so your manager doesn't have to.
What I need from you
One board meeting slot, in person or on a call.
The study is a living document.
Costs move, roofs fail early, and boards change. A study left untouched for eight years is a historical document, not a plan.
Most associations re-run a light update annually or every other year and commission a full study with a fresh site visit roughly every five. Because you keep the working model, updates are fast and inexpensive.
Questions between studies are part of the relationship — if the board is weighing a project, call and we'll run it through the model.
Want this on your calendar before budget season?
Budget adoption drives most reserve study timing. Start the conversation early and the numbers land before the vote.