High-rise and mid-rise condominiums
Since 2010 Philadelphia has required periodic facade inspections of taller buildings, administered by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. The inspecting engineer or architect files a report that rates the facade's condition. Confirm the current height threshold and cycle with L&I; for the board, what matters is that the report is a ready-made condition survey of the most expensive component on the building.
Give the reserve study provider the latest facade report. A good provider will carry its repair recommendations into the funding plan with dates, rather than pricing masonry and sealant from a walk around the sidewalk. Ask in the proposal whether the provider will do that.
The other big lines in a Philadelphia tower are elevator modernization, the roof and its mechanical equipment, the parking structure if there is one, and the building's heating and cooling plant. Elevator modernization in particular arrives as one large bill, and buyers' agents often ask whether it has been planned for.
Rowhome and small-building conversions
Small condominiums carved out of rowhomes and corner buildings are common in Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Point Breeze and similar neighborhoods. They are often self-managed, have a budget of a few thousand dollars and no reserve at all, and share party walls with neighbors who are not in the association.
A study here can be short and inexpensive, often a desk-based or light site-visit report. It should still cover the roof, the front and rear masonry, any roof deck, the shared sewer lateral and water service, and the fire escape or rear stair. The resale certificate under section 3407 will show a buyer the reserve balance; a three-unit building that shows zero is the conversation every seller dreads.
What to have ready before asking for proposals
- The declaration, plats and plans, so the provider knows which components are common and which belong to owners.
- The latest facade inspection report, if the building has one.
- Dates and costs of past roof, elevator, masonry and paving work.
- The current budget and the reserve balance on the last statement.
For the statewide picture, including how Pennsylvania compares with New Jersey across the river, see the Pennsylvania reserve study overview.