Condo Media - December 2021 - 14

Asked & Answered
Reserve Studies vs.
Condition Assessment
Over the past few months, I've heard a lot of discussion
about reserve studies and condition surveys. Are these
the same, and, if not, how do they diff er, and why and
when should our association obtain one?
This is a great question because it is not asked often
enough. I cannot count the number of times I have
responded to a condominium board's request for a
meeting to discuss their stated need for a reserve fund
study only to fi nd they actually needed something
else. That something else could encompass a wide
range of engineering services such as a full structural
evaluation; a water infi ltration study; and/or a plumbing
or electrical system update.
Condo and HOA boards have a lot on their agenda
for their periodic meetings. Issues regarding landscaping,
by-law enforcement, and assessment collections
to name a few, so the need to spend money to
update their last reserve study is not a popular item.
Even though the Community Associations Institute
(CAI) and the association's property manager may
recommend a reserve budget update every three to
fi ve years, the board members are not eager to look
at the calendar.
In fact, most discussions about updating the reserve
budget arises from some perceived maintenance
problem and not the calendar. Perhaps it is the rise in
complaints about water stained ceilings from leaking
roofs, or poor curb appeal of the aging building facades,
or the developing potholes in the roadways that
create the agenda item requiring capital repairs and
the analysis of the reserve budget.
With the guidance of an experienced property manager
or knowledgeable committee member, the board
will recognize the benefi t of hiring a professional
engineer (PE) and reserve specialist (RS). These
professionals provide the most complete review of the
facility's common elements and will develop a reserve
budget refl ecting the future scope of repairs and associated
cost estimates. With this understanding,
the board can prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP)
and conduct interviews to hire a qualifi ed fi rm -
from there, things can start going wrong.
14 CONDOMEDIA December 2021
COMMON MISUNDERSTANDING
They go wrong because of miscommunication due to
the lack of understanding of the industry's language and
terminology. Let us assume the condo's concern is structural
problems given the recent attention of the Surfside,
Florida disaster. The communication problem starts with
the engineer's RFP interview during which the interviewee
remarks to the board that one of the advantages of hiring
an engineering fi rm to perform a reserve study is their
structural engineers can comment on the potential structural
distress issues found during the inspection of the
building(s). This can be a point of communication disconnect
and the beginning of unfulfi lled client expectations.
In the engineer's mind, he thought he was clear in telling
the board his review of the structural elements would
produce a report listing the structural problems found
and the engineer's recommendations of actions to be
taken. What the members of the board may have heard
was that for the price of the reserve fund study they
would receive an engineer's structural evaluation of the
condition of their facility with an estimate of repair costs
to budget for their reserves and for a contractor.
A basic reserve study focuses on estimated remaining
useful lives of common elements. When structural problems
are known before or found during a reserve study,
a condition study or assessment is needed to determine
the soundness of the facility. This scope of work can be
added to the reserve fund study or provided as a separate
task. This study may call for inspection, material testing,
engineering calculations, and more that are outside the
scope of a reserve study. To avoid this, better questions
and answers are needed on all sides of the issue.
■ THIS ANSWER WAS PROVIDED BY JACK CARR, P.E., RS,
LEED-AP, A SENIOR CONSULTANTWITH CRITERIUMENGINEERS
IN FREEPORT, MAINE.
Understand
the Difference
Condo Media - December 2021

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