Criterium-Hardy provides best practices for developing comprehensive Home Owners Association Transition Study analyses for HOA and condo associations throughout Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas.

Home Owners Association Transition Study

What is a Transition Study?

The process of the control going from the Developer to the Association is one of the most crucial periods in the life of a Community Association. This is the time when the governing body of the community must determine not only the physical and financial strengths of the development, but, also set the procedures in place for future maintenance and financial stability. For new Associations, it is extremely beneficial to have both a HOA Reserve Study and Home Owners Association Transition Study completed. The Scope of Work includes the preparation of a Full Reserve Study as described above and Transition Study as described below.

Further, a Transition Study is intended to review the as-built development for general conformance with the provided design drawings and association documents, and to confirm that no defects exist. These observations are visual in nature and include a site and building exterior analysis as well as a percentage of the interior units.

To expand, a Home Owners Association Transition Study includes the following Scope of Work:

• A review of all provided engineering drawings, architectural drawings and public offering statement.
• One visit to the appropriate municipal offices to review the public documents and resolutions concerning the development.
• On-site visual observations performed to determine any areas which have not been built in general conformance with the design documents or acceptable workmanship.
• The inspection of five percent of the unit interiors.
• A Narrative Report of Transition includes details of each observed deficiency; possible cause(s) of the problems; recommendations for corrective action and a reference to any performance standard (i.e. deviation from design drawings, workmanship, etc.), where applicable.
• A Punchlist Summary, which includes a description of each deficiency along with the specific locations where each deficiency was noted and the appropriate, recommended correction.
• The optional preparation of a questionnaire for distribution to all residents. Thus, any concerns with regards to the unit interiors, as they relate to the common elements can be identified.

In addition, the resulting Home Owners Association Transition Study includes our recommendation to:

• Accept the property as is;
• Accept it with conditions; or
• Decline to accept responsibility for maintaining the property until all work is completed.

Download Sample HOA Transition Study Report

Do you need a Home Owners Association Reserve Study? Learn about our HOA Reserve Study services.