Full reserve study or update?
The choice comes down to how much has changed on the ground since the last study, and how much your board trusts its own notes. In Colorado, a summer of hail can change a great deal.
Full study with a site visit
The ranges above
CAI Level I: a component inventory, condition check, life estimates and a funding plan, built from nothing.
Update with a site visit
About 50 to 80 percent of a full study
CAI Level II: the inventory is kept, the preparer walks the site again and reruns the numbers.
Update without a site visit
Often under $1,000
CAI Level III: the numbers are refreshed from the last study and the board's notes.
Choose a full study when
- The association has never had one, or the last one predates the current board's records.
- The property has changed: new amenities, a parking structure, a phase added by the developer.
- An insurance claim replaced roofs, siding or windows across the community, so ages and lives need resetting.
- A lender, insurer or buyer is asking questions the old study cannot answer.
An update with a site visit fits when
The component list is sound but conditions have moved. This is the usual choice every three to five years, and the one most Colorado policies describe. The preparer walks the property, adjusts remaining lives and reruns the funding plan.
A desk update fits when
The last visit was recent, nothing major has been replaced, and the board mainly needs the funding plan refreshed for a new budget. It is the cheapest option and the one that relies most on the board's own observations.
Saying it in the policy
Section 38-33.3-209.5 asks the written policy to say whether the study is based on a physical analysis and a financial analysis. A policy that alternates site visits with desk updates should say so. The policy sentence on our homepage includes that option.
Questions on this topic
Does a desk update satisfy the Colorado policy requirement?
The statute asks the policy to say whether the study is based on a physical analysis and a financial analysis. A desk update has a financial analysis but leans on the board for the physical side, so the policy should say that plainly.
How old can our last study be before we need a full one?
There is no Colorado rule. Firms usually suggest a full study when the last one is more than five years old, when major components have been replaced, or when the component list no longer matches the property.
Get a quote
Three short steps: the ZIP code of the community, how to reach you, then a few taps about the association.
Colorado Reserve Studies introduces; it does not prepare studies. One firm active near your community gets picked, you learn its name, and the request travels only after your yes.
Request received.
- Within one business day you will get, by email or phone, the name of a reserve study firm that covers your part of Colorado.
- Approve that firm and your request goes to it. Turn it down and the request ends with us.
- The firm scopes the study with you and quotes its fee. We will not add you to any mailing list.