Read the two documents against each other, since neither states your exposure alone. The SIRS lists what the building needs, while the reserve schedule shows what the association actually set aside. Total that gap, divide it by the unit count, and you have your likely share. Florida now bars owners from voting away reserve funding.


The Documents Never Spell Out What You Owe

Buyers expect a number and find none, which is the central problem with these reports. On the Discover South Florida Podcast, Larry Mastropieri explained what the study does and does not tell you.

"It's not going to say on the document, $100,000 in assessments come in two years. No, the SIRS study is going to say, here's all this stuff, we're not reserved here."

The work of connecting those pieces falls entirely to the buyer.

"You could be buying a condo for 500 grand and basically committing yourself to another $100,000 in assessments if you don't entirely understand it."

What Does a SIRS Actually Cover?

Florida Statute 718.112(2)(g) requires a structural integrity reserve study for every condominium and cooperative building of three or more habitable stories. That study must repeat at least once every decade. A licensed engineer, architect, or reserve specialist must perform it, since a board cannot estimate these figures internally.

The report must examine eight specific categories of the building.

  • The roof and its remaining service life.
  • Load-bearing walls and primary structural systems.
  • Fire protection systems and fireproofing throughout.
  • The plumbing system serving the whole building.
  • Electrical systems.
  • Exterior painting and waterproofing on all surfaces.
  • Windows and exterior doors.
  • Any other component above roughly $25,000 whose failure would affect structural integrity.

Multi-building associations need a separate study per building, so one report covering an entire community deserves scrutiny. Buyers touring Palm Beach County complexes should confirm which building their unit sits in. The general compliance deadline fell on December 31, 2025, with a narrow extension available where a milestone inspection aligned.

How SIRS Differs From a Milestone Inspection

These two requirements get confused constantly, though they answer different questions. A milestone inspection under Section 553.899 is a physical safety assessment. It comes due when a building turns 30, or at 25 where local rules require, and repeats each decade afterward.

A SIRS is a funding plan instead of a condition report. One tells you whether the building is safe, and the other tells you whether the association has money set aside for what comes next. Request both, since either alone leaves half the picture missing.

The Waiver Loophole Has Closed

A change most buyers have not absorbed reshapes this entire analysis. Associations once put reserve funding to an owner vote and routinely waived or reduced it, which kept fees artificially low for years.

House Bill 913 closed that door entirely. Owners can no longer waive or reduce reserve funding for the eight structural components on budgets adopted since December 31, 2024. The vote no longer matters. Associations may fund through regular dues, special assessments, loans, or credit lines. Nothing about the obligation itself can disappear.

A shortfall therefore converts into a bill on a known schedule. A building carrying years of deferred contributions now faces a mandatory catch-up, and buyers across Broward County are absorbing those increases right now.

Handed a stack of condo documents nobody has explained? Talk to a real estate agent near Boca Raton with a construction background who reads these studies against the reserve schedule and calculates the assessment exposure before you commit. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group or call (561) 544-7000.

Your Right to These Documents

Sellers and associations must produce these records, though buyers frequently accept whatever arrives without asking for the rest. Milestone reports and SIRS studies both qualify as official association records, and any purchaser may demand them.

Associations must now keep both documents on file for 15 years, which gives you a genuine trail instead of one isolated snapshot. Fifteen years of inspection data shows whether conditions have improved, held steady, or deteriorated, and that trajectory tells you more than any individual report.

Buildings with 25 or more units also carry online document-access obligations, so much of this material should sit on an association website. Request anything missing in writing, and treat reluctance as information about how the board operates.

Run the Assessment Math Yourself

Larry walks buyers through a calculation the documents deliberately avoid making for you.

"You cross-check with the reserves, understand what the reserves look like, and you're like, oh, they haven't done these things. These things will likely cost $2 million. Two million divided by X units yields X amount of assessments, because they're not reserved for it."

Current reserve collections rarely come close to closing that gap. Larry describes reserve contributions at many buildings as barely measurable against the scale of the work identified, which means the shortfall lands on owners.

The whole exercise reduces to three steps you can run yourself.

  • List every component the study flags as needing work within ten years.
  • Compare each projected cost against the current reserve balance for that item.
  • Divide the total gap by the number of units to estimate your personal share.

Larry has watched buyers skip that arithmetic repeatedly.

"I just bought a condo and I just committed to $150,000 of assessments that I didn't realize I was going to be committed to. We see this all the time."

A $450,000 Lesson in Two Years

One transaction Larry was handling puts a figure on the cost of skipping this work. The numbers on that deal speak for themselves.

"The guy paid 9.95 for it, so round up a million bucks. You paid another $200,000 in assessments. We were under contract for basically 750. So this guy is about to lose $450,000 in a two-year period."

Market conditions played almost no part in that outcome.

"All because he didn't read these documents and didn't understand where this building was going."

Conditions at the property tell the rest of the story.

"The building is in shambles. The scaffolding everywhere. It's a mess. It's incredible that we were able to find one non-QM lender that would lend on this thing."

The buyer taking it on had a specific reason.

"The only reason my buyer is buying this thing is because the view in this unit is probably one of the most epic views in that market. You're paying for the view 100%."

Owners who bought in 2022 and 2023 face similar arithmetic. Larry describes clients who have already paid six figures in assessments, expect more, and can only sell at their original purchase price. Sellers across Delray Beach and Boca Raton report the same trap.

Start With AI, Then Read It Yourself

Document volume defeats most buyers, and Larry uses technology to get through it faster.

"Plug it into Claude. We have a skill set up in Claude from reading so many of these things, where we just drop it in and then it pulls out a lot of the stuff."

He stays careful about where the tool stops helping.

"I'm not going to say you shouldn't read it in its entirety, but Claude will help you quickly identify a lot of things, really sophisticated."

The workflow then moves in both directions at once.

"As it calls this thing out, you go back, you read that section, and you probably get enlightened on something else while you do that. So it's a real process."

Interpretation still demands a human reader. Technical jargon, legal terminology, and construction language all need translation before a buyer can act on any of it.

Your Insurance Now Depends on Compliance

A consequence buyers rarely anticipate connects these documents directly to coverage. Citizens Property Insurance cannot issue or renew policies for condominium associations or unit owners unless the building satisfies both the milestone and the SIRS mandates.

Private carriers across the state have adopted similar positions. Many now request the SIRS summary page or a compliance affidavit before generating a quote. A paperwork failure therefore becomes an insurability problem.

Confirm the building's compliance status during your inspection period. A property out of step with these requirements can leave you unable to bind coverage, and lenders will not close a financed purchase without it. Buyers in Palm Beach Gardens have lost deals at that exact stage.

Can Your Agent Actually Read These?

Larry makes an unusually blunt assessment of his own industry here.

"If there's ever a time where a buyer's rep is valuable, it's when a client is buying a condo. And the buyer's rep is only valuable when that agent knows what they're doing."

His estimate of how many qualify is stark.

"98% of these agents have no clue, or haven't read condo docs or SIRS studies, or can even understand construction at any level."

His criticism extends to listing agents as well.

"Most realtors don't even understand the requirements of what documents need to be provided."

Ask any agent directly how many SIRS studies they have read. Buyers in West Palm Beach and other condo-heavy markets should treat a vague answer as disqualifying.

Financing Depends on the Same Documents

Lenders scrutinize association health as closely as they check your credit. A building can fail that test regardless of how strong a borrower you are. Larry's case study makes the point sharply, since only one non-QM lender agreed to finance a unit in a building wrapped in scaffolding.

Several conditions push a project off conventional lending lists.

  • Deferred maintenance that a lender classifies as a structural concern.
  • Unfunded repair obligations above program thresholds.
  • Active litigation that names the association as a party.
  • Insufficient reserve contributions in the adopted budget.
  • Absent or incomplete milestone and SIRS documentation.
  • Master insurance coverage falling short of program requirements.

Non-QM financing remains available on many of these buildings, though rates and terms cost considerably more. Confirm lender eligibility early, since a project that fails review shrinks your buyer pool when you eventually sell.

A Low Price Rarely Means a Bargain

Distressed buildings advertise attractive numbers, and the discount usually reflects something the seller already knows. A unit priced well under comparable properties nearby deserves suspicion instead of excitement.

Compare the total monthly cost instead of the purchase price alone. A unit at $400,000 with $1,400 fees and a looming assessment can outcost a $500,000 unit in a fully funded building across five years. Owners in West Palm Beach and other high-rise markets often discover that math after closing.

Resale should factor into the decision too. Your eventual buyer will read the same documents you did, so a building with unresolved structural obligations limits your exit long before you list.

Documents to Request Before You Commit

  • The complete SIRS report, not merely a summary page.
  • The milestone inspection report, including Phase 2 findings where applicable.
  • Current reserve balances broken out by component.
  • The adopted budget showing reserve contributions for each line.
  • Board meeting minutes covering the past 12 to 24 months.
  • Any engineering reports the association has commissioned.
  • The estoppel letter disclosing pending or approved assessments.

Associations must retain milestone and SIRS reports for at least 15 years, and both qualify as official records available to prospective purchasers. Buildings with 25 or more units also carry online document-access obligations.

Warning Signs Inside the Reports

  • Concrete spalling or rebar corrosion noted anywhere in the structure.
  • Failed waterproofing on balconies, walkways, or parking decks.
  • Reserve balances far below the study's projected ten-year requirement.
  • Board minutes discussing assessments the estoppel letter never mentions.
  • A study completed by someone lacking the required professional license.
  • Deadlines missed entirely, which signals broader governance problems.

This page describes general requirements and is not legal advice. A Florida attorney and a qualified inspector should review the documents for any specific purchase.

The Number Nobody Prints Is the One That Matters

Every condo document set hides a figure that never appears on any page. You surface it only by reading the study against every reserve line item. We do that before you go under contract and calculate what the building will realistically ask of you. You then learn whether the asking price already accounts for it. One buyer we know is down $450,000 for skipping that step. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group, Realtors® at (561) 544-7000 and give us the building name and we will tell you exactly what to pull.

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