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What is the Reserve Fund?

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HOA Reserve Fund Definition

Reserve Fund Meaning: A reserve fund is a special account designated for long-term repairs and replacement of commonly-owned property in a community association. Reserves are similar to a savings account in that it will only be used for its specific purpose.

For instance, reserve funds can be used to maintain the roof of a condominium building. Since all unit owners share ownership of the roof, everyone has to contribute to maintain, repair, or replace the roof. Every 20 years or so, roof shingles and other components will need to be replaced. Since this is a major expense, the condo association will set aside a specific amount of money each year to go towards repairing or replacing the roof.

How Much Reserve Funding Should You Have?

There are many factors that will determine how much reserve funding your association should have. Typically, when an HOA plans for their reserve fund, they call on trained experts known as Reserve Specialists.

They conduct a reserve study to examine every detail of the association’s assets and determine their lifespan and condition. They also include factors such as inflation to determine the cost of replacement at the end of an asset’s lifespan. Finally, the last step is to determine how much money the association needs to set aside each year.

Three Types of Reserve Funding

There are three basic plans for reserve funding: baseline, threshold, and full funding. These determine how prepared the HOA will be when the asset’s lifespan is up.

Fully Funded Reserves

Full funding offers the least amount of risk for homeowners. With this reserve funding option, the replacement item in question will be fully funded by the end of its lifespan.

Threshold Funding

With threshold funding, the association plans to have a certain limit, say 50%, of the item paid for by the end of its lifespan. The upside to this option is cheaper dues. Meanwhile, the downside is that it puts the owners at a greater risk. Owners may reach the end of the item’s lifespan without having the proper funds available to repair or replace it.

Baseline Funding

Baseline funding aims to keep the reserve fund above a $0 balance at the end of the item’s lifespan.

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