Full study fees by community size
| Community | Typical example | Full study with site visit |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 40 homes | A converted Philadelphia rowhome block, a small townhouse court | $1,500 to $4,500 |
| 40 to 120 homes | Townhouses with private streets, a pool or a clubhouse | $2,500 to $7,500 |
| 120 to 300 homes | Amenities spread over the site, long runs of road and storm pipe | $4,500 to $18,000 |
| Condominium tower | Elevators, facade, parking deck, central plant | $7,500 to $15,000+ |
The number of homes matters less than the number of things to inspect. A 40-unit garden condominium with a pool, a clubhouse, four roofs and a private road can cost more to study than a 120-home townhouse HOA whose owners maintain their own roofs. Count components, not doors.
Updates cost less
| Level of service (CAI) | What is done | Typical fee |
|---|---|---|
| Full study (CAI Level I) | New component inventory, site inspection, funding plan | The ranges above |
| Update with site visit (Level II) | Existing inventory walked again on site, figures revised | Less than a full study, scaled to how much is walked again |
| Update without site visit (Level III) | Costs, lives and balances revised from the desk | Often under $1,000 |
CAI's standards define these levels. A full study is the one to buy if the association has never had one, if the last was more than five or six years ago, or if major work has changed the property since. From then on, many boards walk the property again every third year and refresh the numbers from the desk in the off years, which keeps the cost a small recurring line.
What pushes a Pennsylvania fee up
- Facades on taller buildings. In Philadelphia, taller buildings fall under the city's periodic facade inspection program run by Licenses and Inspections. A provider who can read and price that engineer's report, or coordinate with it, will charge more than one who only walks the grounds.
- Parking structures. Decks and garages under condominium buildings need a structural eye. Expect a higher fee, or a separate engineer's assessment priced alongside the study.
- Lake dams and private roads. Many Pocono communities own a dam, a spillway or miles of private road. Dams in Pennsylvania fall under DEP's Dam Safety program, and their repair costs are large and specialized, so the provider may need a dam engineer's input.
- Hillsides and retaining walls. Around Pittsburgh, retaining walls, slopes and steep drives take time to inspect and are hard to price without one.
- Missing records. If the association cannot say when roofs were replaced or what the last paving job cost, the provider estimates from scratch, which takes longer.
How to compare proposals
- Ask every provider to price the same thing: the same level of study, the same number of funding plans, the same component threshold (for example, items over $5,000).
- Check who visits the site and what credential they hold.
- Ask how many draft rounds are included and whether the provider will present to the board or the owners.
- Ask what an update will cost in years three and six, so the board budgets for the cycle and not just the first report.
- Look for a 30-year cash flow projection with the assumptions stated: inflation rate, interest on reserves and the starting balance.
Set the fee against what the study prices. Re-roofing every building in a townhouse community or resurfacing its roads costs many times the study, and the study is what tells the board when those bills land. For an overview of the state picture, see the Pennsylvania reserve study page.