A reserve study is a snapshot. The day it's delivered, it reflects current costs, current conditions, and your current balance. A year later, prices have moved, a component has aged faster than expected, and the board has spent money nobody planned for. The study only stays useful if you update it.
The short answer: most associations should start with a full study, update the financial projections every year, and have a professional walk the property again at least every three years. The rest of this guide explains why, and what each type of update involves.
The three levels of reserve study
The Community Associations Institute's National Reserve Study Standards define three levels of service. Your proposal should say which one you're buying.
| Level | Name | Site visit? | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Full study | Yes | Builds the component inventory from scratch: quantities, condition, useful life, replacement cost. Then the financial analysis and funding plan. |
| II | Update with site visit | Yes | Uses the existing inventory, re-inspects the components, and revises condition, remaining life, and costs. New financial analysis and funding plan. |
| III | Update without site visit | No | Keeps the existing inventory and conditions, updates costs, the reserve balance, and the projections. |
A Level I study is the foundation. Without a reliable inventory, every update after it inherits the same gaps. If your association has never had a full study, or the last one was done before major changes to the property, start there.
A practical schedule
Here's the cadence most reserve professionals recommend:
- Year 1: full study (Level I)
- Years 2 and 3: update without a site visit (Level III), timed before the board sets the budget
- Year 4: update with a site visit (Level II)
- Repeat the Level III, Level III, Level II cycle
An annual update keeps the funding plan in step with your actual balance and with construction costs, which change every year. The site visit every few years catches what the numbers can't: a roof that's wearing out early, a parking lot that's holding up better than expected, a component the original study missed.
Events that should trigger an update sooner
Don't wait for the calendar if any of these happen:
- You completed a major project. Replacing the roof or repaving resets that component's remaining life. The projections should reflect it.
- Costs moved sharply. If bids are coming in well above the study's estimates, the funding plan is understating what you need.
- Storm or unexpected damage. Emergency spending out of reserves changes the balance and may change component conditions.
- The board is about to change dues or levy an assessment. Base the decision on current numbers, not a three-year-old projection.
- A lender, insurer, or buyer asks. Mortgage lenders and insurers increasingly ask about reserve funding during condo and HOA reviews.
- New amenities or common areas. Anything the association now maintains needs to be in the inventory.
What Georgia requires
As of 2026, Georgia law doesn't set a reserve study schedule for most community associations the way some states do. California, for example, requires associations to have a site inspection at least every three years and review the study annually. In Georgia, your obligations come mainly from your governing documents. Many declarations and bylaws require the board to maintain adequate reserves, and some require a periodic study. Read yours, and ask your association's attorney if the language is unclear.
Even where no rule requires it, boards have a duty to maintain the common property. A current reserve study is the clearest evidence that the board is planning for that responsibility rather than reacting to it.
How much an update costs compared with a full study
Updates cost less than a full study because the inventory already exists. A Level III update is typically the least expensive option, since it involves no site work. A Level II update falls between the two. Ask for all three prices when you request a proposal so the board can budget for the full cycle, not just this year.
The bottom line
A reserve study that sits on a shelf for five years is a historical document, not a plan. Budget for an annual update and a site visit every few years, and update sooner when something big changes. Your homeowners will see fewer surprise assessments, and the board will have numbers it can defend.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your governing documents and your association's attorney are the final word on what your association must do.