Sabine Grimes Principal Unison Group
Interior Design
Interior Design Wants vs. Needs A Study of the Discrepancy Between Reserve Fund Studies and Actual Improvements
All of the above should be understood and studied in detail before deciding how to move forward. It is possible to move forwards with building improvements without taking time to understand the design, but it would be as short sighted as pulling vegetables out of the ground and slapping it on a plate to call it âdinnerâ. Design would be the process of taking the time to wash, prepare, cook and plate the vegetables and possibly, even season it before sitting down to dine. Design is a great tool to assist in portfolio planning and help the owners visualize and prioritize items to move forward with. I should start off with saying that it is not necessary that there be a discrepancy between reserve fund studies and the actual
construction costs. Sometimes the reserve fund study and the proposed design are quite similar, sometimes not. WHY do discrepancies exist at all and why are some discrepancies acceptable? The reserve fund study is a projected budget that is put together to help guide the condo corporation in budgeting and spending. All condo corporations have reserve funds for necessary spends to maintain the building. They do an excellent job in projecting anticipated necessary spends, ensuring that the funds needed are in place. As they are responsible for guiding such a broad asset, it is necessary to recognize that they guide anticipated spends in a big picture way and should not be used verbatim. The engineers that completed the reserve fund studies are not wrong, but we must remember that they put the studies together for guidance only. It is not wise to expect any consultant to be experts in all domains. Existing condominiums need to have a consortium of consultants in place at specific times to maintain their value. The consultants should be engaged when necessary to ensure that the work that is
needed is carried out in a way that adds value to the building. The team of engineers, designers, maintenance personnel, residents, security consultants all have a large amount of influence of how the property exists over itâs lifetime and itâs important that you select ones that understand the term âvalueâ. If you took the reserve study fund verbatim and followed instructions based on the anticipated improvements then everything that is done to a building would be seen merely as âa new version of what existed beforeâ or âreplacing the same thing that originally existedâ. It is important to note that real estate is not a stagnant asset but is very much alive and needs to morph and change just as the city changes around it. If you take time to make sure that you are re-adjusting the asset, then you are doing more than maintaining â you are redeveloping. The amount of money that is in a reserve fund for interior improvements is linked to an assumption that all materials / design elements used in a building are per market standard. Your condominium is measured CONDOVOICE SUMMER 2020
CV
33
ILLUSTRATION BY HAYDEN MAYNARD
Before we dig too deep into the subject, letâs quickly touch base and see what we need to put a firm plan in place for building improvements: ⢠A firm understanding of your budget (usually available in the reserve fund study) ⢠Understanding operational challenges ⢠A vision that you would like to move forward with (design)