Services

Although it would be ideal to perform a replacement reserve study every year to account for the sometimes significant changes which can occur in the physical and financial picture of your association, we realize that most condominium associations cannot or will not do this because of practical constraints on management time and financial resources. To provide our clients with maximum flexibility, we offer the following levels of service:

Full Reserve Study: This is our most most comprehensive offering and should be used by associations which are ordering their first reserve study, or whose previous reserve study is so dated as to require a "blank slate" approach to resurvey the various common element components and their conditions. As part of our scope of work, we will thoroughly review your master deed and interview Board members to determine what items should be included in the list of reserve components. We will then estimate Useful Life, Remaining Useful Life, and Replacement Cost, all documented with color photos embedded directly in the reserve study report. From this Physical Analysis we will then perform a Financial Analysis which will account for your current reserve funding situation and recommend an ongoing Reserve Funding Plan. We pride ourselves on clear presentation and extensive use of easy-to-understand graphs and charts so that the Reserve Study is actually relevant to the Board members and the co-owners. Post engagement support in the form of telephone conferences, email, and face-to-face meetings are all included as part of our scope of services for a Full Reserve Study.

"Update With Site Visit" Reserve Study: This product is recommended if the association is confident that the Reserve Components have been accurately surveyed, and no major changes have occurred since the last Full Reserve Study.  The scope of work includes an on-site inspection to update Useful Life,  Remaining Useful Life, Cost Figures, and Financial Assumptions, but component quantities will not be resurveyed.  Narrative presentation is presented in a summary report, supported by photographic inventory, with a detailed Financial Analysis.

"Update Without Site Visit" Reserve Study:  This type of study is useful when the association is confident that the Reserve Components have been accurately identified and surveyed, but due to the minimal number of Reserve Components, and short-time period elapsed since the last Reserve Study, the association does not feel an on-site inspection would be required.  In order to provide a credible reserve study, we only provide this type of reserve study for existing clients, and our previous reserve study (with a site visit) is less than five years old.  For this type of Reserve Study, we will update the Components List after interviewing Board Members, and then prepare a Financial Analysis with current assumptions.  Narrative content of this type of Reserve Study is extremely limited, with most communication occurring via embedded photographs and an Executive Summary.

Fees

Our fees are determined primarily by:

1. The number of units
2. Extent of common elements
3. Age of the association and whether it was originally phased (phasing adds to the complexity, and therefore cost, of the Reserve Study)
4. Location

Clearly, with larger condominium projects, with extensive common elements and varying vintages, the complexity of the Reserve Study can increase dramatically.  Location is a secondary factor on costs, since we service most of the Lower Peninsula and are centrally located in Ann Arbor. 

Please keep in mind that the Full Reserve Study is our most comprehensive product, but typically only needs to be performed once per condominium association.  Assuming the association updates their Full Reserve Study regularly, the next two tiers of service are typically well suited for most associations, and our prices are commensurate with the decreased work required for regular updates.