Preventative Maintenance

Does anyone have any ideas for preventative maintenance/building inspection services. I am a condo president for a small self managed condo (10 unit). Because we are so thinly staffed, I considered hiring a property manager but I found this too cost prohibitive. But one thing I really liked about the property management firm is that they would inspect the property to identify any potential problems that we may want to get out in front of. I was not impressed with the building inspector I used when I bought my condo - and I'm not sure if those companies would be appropriate for this kind of work.

To save $$$ that is how I would first approach the situation. Depending on the age of your complex you might even be able to go back further regarding repair costs. You also need to comb through your CCR's and make a list of ALL items the Association is responsible for (especially expensive items) such as roofs, roads, exterior stucco / siding, plumbing, etc. If these have not been replaced or updated in past, then you need to determine when they may need to be replaced and how much will cost so you can have enough funds to cover. The alternative would be a future special assessment which would cause a hardship on some owners. It is much better to increase dues and pay a bit more each month or year vs many thousands as a future special assessment. You might check around and see how much it would cost your HOA for a reserve analysis study. Your surrounding HOA's can maybe help out and give you feedback on who they used and if they were happy with the service.

True!

Do you have a Reserves Study, Jim?

How old is your HOA?

Thanks for the recent replies. A reserve study make a lot of sense. We only have on building with very few units - built in the 1980s. Our record keeping is terrible, I don't trust it. I know a lot more about finance than I do about building maintenance - I was actually looking for someone who is more qualified than myself to do exactly what you're suggesting. I got a quote from a property management firm and they included a reserve study as part of their services. Unfortunately, we are so small, it's not cost effective to hire them, their minimum fee amounts to 20% of our annual budget.

Thanks for the advice, the reserve analyst professional is exactly what I am looking for, except I when I do an internet search I can't seem to find any of them in my area. I think they would probably be way too expensive anyway. We only have a few areas that need to be maintained, the roof, driveway, lighting, stairs to enter the common area and the garage, is most of it. Except I am really not sure how to maintain such areas or how much it costs to replace them. In searching for a reserve analyst, I found a firm called DIY (Do it yourself) Reserve Study. Any thoughts on this company?