Reserve study guides, state-compliance walkthroughs, and product notes.

Plain-English answers to the questions HOA boards, property managers, and reserve specialists ask in practice — statute changes, funding-strategy tradeoffs, cost ranges, and the math behind every funding plan. No email gates.

Latest posts

• [01] 2026 Reserve Study Law Changes Federal lending, Florida, California, Washington, Maryland, New Jersey, and Colorado — the reserve-study rules that changed in 2026, in plain English. LAW UPDATE · July 22, 2026
• [02] Florida SIRS Compliance Guide (2026) HB 913, the 8 required components, and the Dec 31, 2025 deadline — for condo boards going into 2026. COMPLIANCE · May 27, 2026
• [03] Reserve study cost in 2026 National ranges, state premiums, and the SIRS surcharge — what your study should actually cost. COST GUIDE · May 27, 2026
• [04] NRSS Level I, II, III explained Level I (full + site visit), II (update + site visit), III (desktop) — and how to pick. STANDARDS EXPLAINER · May 27, 2026
• [05] Davis-Stirling §5570 explained The Reserve Funding Disclosure Summary, line by line — for California boards going into the 2026 budget cycle. CALIFORNIA COMPLIANCE · May 27, 2026
• [06] Funding strategies compared Recommended vs Threshold vs Baseline — with worked numbers for a sample 80-unit CA association. FUNDING STRATEGY · May 27, 2026
• [07] Reserve study PDFs that get read Typography, exec summary patterns, and the case for color-coded variance flags. DELIVERABLE DESIGN · May 27, 2026
• [08] What is percent funded? The formula, the four funded zones, and the common miscomputations that misstate it by 30 to 50 percentage points. RESERVE STUDY METRICS · May 29, 2026
• [09] Underfunded HOA — how to climb out What underfunded actually means, the four levers to climb out, and a worked 10-year ramp from 30 to 70 percent. FUNDING STRATEGY · May 29, 2026
• [10] How often — state cycles + triggers Every state's cycle requirement, the NRSS Level I/II/III cadence, and the five triggers for an interim study. RESERVE STUDY CADENCE · May 29, 2026
• [11] HOA special assessments explained The bill no homeowner wants to open — why special assessments happen, how they're calculated, who's on the hook, and how a funded reserve makes them rare. ASSESSMENTS · June 15, 2026
• [12] Fannie/Freddie condo reserve rules When a buyer can't get a mortgage on a condo, the association often failed the lender's project review. How the 10% rule and post-Surfside reviews decide loan eligibility. LENDER REQUIREMENTS · June 15, 2026
• [13] Reserve fund vs. operating fund Every healthy HOA runs two checkbooks. Mixing them is one of the most common and most damaging mistakes a self-managed board makes. Here's the wall between them. HOA FINANCE BASICS · June 15, 2026
• [14] How to read a reserve study What each section means, which numbers actually matter, and the red flags that should prompt questions. RESERVE STUDY BASICS · June 15, 2026
• [15] Can AI do a reserve study? What AI genuinely does well, what's marketing gloss, and the line a credible reserve study never crosses. AI & AUTOMATION · June 27, 2026
• [16] Reserve software for AppFolio, Vantaca, Buildium, Yardi Your reserve study shouldn't mean re-typing the books — how GL data flows in, and what to watch for. SOFTWARE & INTEGRATIONS · June 27, 2026
• [17] Washington reserve study requirements Most associations still follow the older acts; by January 1, 2028 nearly all move under WUCIOA. What that means for your reserve study. WASHINGTON COMPLIANCE · June 27, 2026
• [18] How much should an HOA have in reserves? Why it's a percentage, not a number — the 70% benchmark, the 10% rule, and how to find your target. RESERVE FUND BASICS · June 27, 2026
• [19] Nevada reserve study requirements What NRS 116.31152 requires: a 5-year study, annual review, adequate funding, and disclosures you can't vote away. NEVADA COMPLIANCE · June 27, 2026
• [20] Colorado reserve study requirements Colorado commands the disclosure, not the study cycle — and why that still means you need a reserve study. COLORADO COMPLIANCE · June 27, 2026
• [21] Does Texas require a reserve study? No Texas statute requires a study — but your governing documents and your owners' lenders very likely do. TEXAS COMPLIANCE · June 27, 2026
• [22] Best reserve study software (2026) The criteria professionals actually use — judge the engine first, the deliverable second, the dashboard last. BUYER'S GUIDE · June 27, 2026

In the works

• [10] Migrating from other reserve study software — CSV import workflow, engine-math sanity checks, first-property test plan.
• [11] Reading a reserve study cash-flow projection — how to interpret the year-by-year balance trajectory and spot the stress years.
• [12] Per-property overage billing — how property counts roll into Stripe invoices and how to read the next bill.