Getting Started
Thank you for selecting HealthyReserves.
To get started, we have created a simple Three-Step Process that will allow you to get your HOA's reserve fund profile built and analyzed so that you can quickly understand the state of your HOA’s reserves.
As part of your purchase, we have included a Quick Start Guide and example Getting Started worksheet for you to use in conjunction with the more detailed video walk-through's below.
Also, please check out our Helpful Resources section at the bottom of this page. If this is your first time through a process like this you may find it beneficial to review some of the resources before your get started.
Step 1. Objectives
Step 1 in the process begins with filling in the Objectives sheet.
This is where you will enter information that will help drive the funding goals that you want to achieve over the term of this analysis.
There are various ways to approach your funding goals and we highly recommend reviewing this Reserve Study Guide which provides a good overview of how to set funding goals to help ensure an adequate reserve fund level for your association.
Step 2. Component Inventory
In Step 2, we’ll go through the process of building out the Component Inventory sheet.
The Component Inventory is the foundation that the rest of the process is built upon. Essentially you will be identifying which expenses are going to occur, when they will occur and how much they will cost.
Before you begin you will need a clear plan for which expenses should be included. To that end we strongly recommend that you follow the three-part test detailed in the Reserve Study Standards guidelines.
We will also discuss various options for determining estimated costs.
Step 3. Funding Plan
The 3rd and final step in the process is generating the Funding Plan.
The Funding Plan sheet builds on the information that we entered in the prior steps by laying out a year-by-year view of your expense commitment and your financial preparedness to meet the commitment.
There are two inputs at your disposal to build a healthy plan - the “Monthly HOA Fee” and the “Special Assessment”. Entering data into either or both of these columns will give you real-time feedback on the health of your plan.
The ultimate goal of this entire process is to build a stable, multi-year funding plan to meet the commitments identified in this plan.
Helpful Resources
The resources below represent a condensed list of hundreds of hours of research that we have done while using Healthy Reserves for our own internal reserve analysis.
Please take special note of the first resource in the list (Reserve Study Standards) as this will answer many of the "How" and "Why" type questions that you will undoubtedly have. It is definitely worth the 20 page read before you get started.
Reserve Study Standards (PDF) If you are new to the process of building a healthy reserve fund then this 20 page document is a must read.
Construction Analytics - ECONOMICS BEHIND THE HEADLINES (Website). A great site for in-depth research on construction economics such as construction inflation rates. Have a look at this page for a great historical perspective on long term construction inflation rates.
HUD.gov Useful Life Tool (PDF) This is a great tool developed by HUD and used by their field organization as part of a HUD Capital Needs Assessment (CNA).
202x National Construction Estimator (eBook - Fee based) A robust resource for construction costs broken down by both materials and labor. Also includes geographical weighting factors for materials and labor.