Reserve Fund Study?

[joylewis.livejournal.com]

Hello all--my Google queries have been fruitless so I'm hoping someone here has a recommendation. My condo association would like to do a reserve fund study. Has anyone here done this that could provide experience or references? 

Thanks! 

Comments

[alstnprkngrfuge.livejournal.com]

There are a whole lot of old buildings that were converted to condos around the Boston area, so maybe there are some relevant resources. Books aimed at small landlords could also help.

Is your building self-managed? If so, how do you handle finding contractors for repairs (or is that part of your question)? I'd like to find out what typical budgets for small condos look like, both self-managed and professionally managed.

[joylewis.livejournal.com]

We are self-managed. Some contractors we maintained from when the building was rehabbed, but most we've found elsewhere. Tom Champion (bless his heart) actually gave me references here in DSLJ about good masons in the area. References from friends and neighbors and plain old google fill in the gaps.

I'm not sure what you mean about the budget; are you talking about how much we pay for water, insurance, etc. or are you talking more about planning for repairs?

[laryu.livejournal.com]

How many units are in your association? Your fees should be set according to a budget, that includes line items for Income (condo fees, other fees, bank interest, etc.), Operating expenses (electricity, utilities, etc.), Maintenance expenses (for various types of maintenance and supplies), Administrative expenses (management fees, like tax prep), Taxes and Insurance -- and Capital Reserves/Expenses.

[alstnprkngrfuge.livejournal.com]

Basically, I'm interested in finding out what smalls condos similar to ours are paying for, and how much they're spending, so I can see if our expenses are too high.