Nashville Reserve Studies
Middle Tennessee has grown fast, and much of the association housing built here since 2010 is now reaching its first big round of replacements.
Covering Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Sumner and Wilson counties.
A local factor worth knowing
The May 1 and 2, 2010 flood: more than 13 inches of rain in two days at Nashville, with the Cumberland and Harpeth out of their banks.
Condo towers and suburban associations need different studies
A downtown or Gulch condominium carries elevators, a parking structure, roof membranes, a fire alarm system and often a central cooling plant. Its study is mostly about expensive mechanical and envelope work that arrives in large lumps. A Franklin or Spring Hill association with a pool, a clubhouse and a mile of private street has a flatter schedule, led by paving, pool plaster and the clubhouse roof.
Both are measured the same way: an inventory, a remaining-life estimate for each item and a funding plan. What changes is the scope of the site visit and how much the specialist leans on an engineer for structural items.
What the 2010 flood still teaches boards here
Many low-lying complexes along Mill Creek, the Harpeth and the Cumberland learned in May 2010 that the reserve fund is not an insurance policy. Flood damage is an insurance and special assessment question; the reserve study covers the slow, predictable wear on what is left. Boards that rebuilt after the flood often have a cluster of components with the same install date, which means a cluster of replacements coming due together.
A good study flags that bunching early so the board can spread the work or the contributions over more years.
Davidson County is a single metro government
Nashville and Davidson County have been one consolidated government since 1963, so permits and codes for most of the county run through Metro Codes rather than separate city halls. Williamson, Rutherford, Sumner and Wilson counties each have their own city and county offices, which matters when a study schedules work that needs a permit.
The state rule applies here too
Condominium boards in Nashville have the same duty as anywhere in Tennessee: a reserve study at least every five years, prepared by a credentialed reserve specialist or a licensed engineer or architect, and shared with every owner. Details are on the law page; homeowners associations outside the Condominium Act should read our HOA page.
Other Tennessee metros
Memphis and Shelby County, Knoxville and East Tennessee and Chattanooga and Hamilton County.
Get a quote for your association
It takes about a minute: where the community is, who we should speak to, and some optional detail about the buildings.
Tennessee Reserve Studies makes introductions; it does not carry out studies. You get the name of one firm active in your part of the state first, and your details travel only with your agreement.
Received, thank you.
- Within one working day we get back to you, by phone or email, naming a single reserve study firm active near the community.
- Happy with our choice? Tell us, and the request goes over. Not happy? Then nobody else ever sees it.
- The firm contacts you to scope the study and give you its fee. We never add you to a mailing list.