Will the reserves cover the next big repair?

No. A professional reserve study models every component and reports a study-based “percent funded” (reserves ÷ fully-funded balance). This tool projects your reserve against the SINGLE upcoming expense you enter, so its “percent funded” means coverage of that one item — other components may still be underfunded.

The projection uses today's dollars and a flat annual contribution — it does not add construction-cost inflation (repair costs usually rise) or interest earned on the reserve. Over many years those omissions matter, so a far-off “covered” result is softened and should be re-run with an inflated cost estimate.

No. It flags the kind of gap that often precedes a special assessment or a loan, but boards have other options and the figures are your estimates. Confirm with your reserve study, your board, or a licensed reserve specialist or CPA. This is information, not financial advice.

It varies widely by state and by association type. Some states require condo associations to fund reserves for major components or to obtain a periodic reserve study; many states impose no reserve-funding mandate at all and leave it to the declaration and the board's budget. Records-access rights, though, are broadly available: you generally have the right to ask to see the reserve study and the budget behind it, whatever your state requires.

The board's typical options are a special assessment, a loan the association repays through dues, deferring the repair (risky for structural or safety items), or some combination. An empty reserve does not erase the obligation to maintain common elements — see our special-assessment estimator to model what a shortfall could cost you directly, and your state's foreclosure-and-liens guide for what happens if an assessment meant to cover the gap goes unpaid.