What should our board do after a Study Check?

Use the findings to retain useful study content, address confirmed gaps and supply the specific information needed to resolve open questions. Confirm the smallest supported next step before agreeing to professional work. A Study Check reviews the document and information supplied; it does not issue a new reserve plan or determine lender approval.

Let Ballast help close the gaps

Start with the recommendation in your own Check. An illustrative report cannot determine the right scope for another association. Bring the complete study and the information requested in the findings so Ballast can review the open questions and scope any supported work.

Do these findings mean we need a new study?

Not automatically. Provide missing information first. Full or Update is recommended only when the evidence supports the need; an Update also needs an eligible predecessor.

How can Ballast help close the gaps?

Agreed study work can address component inventory, condition, cost basis, funding comparisons and supported owner impact. The accepted scope defines the work and deliverables.

What should we provide?

Send the complete study and agency appendix, material cost support, budget and assessment-income basis, financial dates, unit count and assessment-allocation schedule.

What happens after this Check?

Resolve open questions and confirm the supported scope and quote. Choose a one-time issued study or ongoing Live service after an issued study, under the agreed engagement.

Keep the funding question in context

A financing budget test and a reserve-funding plan answer different questions. The percentage comparison in a Check is not a finding that reserves are adequate. Before using a dollar or per-unit comparison, identify the budget year, assessment-income basis, permitted exclusions and governing allocation among units. If these inputs are missing, the amount remains undetermined.

For the current and scheduled Fannie Mae Full Review requirements, including the January 4, 2027 change and the conditional study-substitution route, see the reserve-allocation budget-test answer. Update eligibility also depends on the prior study and the professional scope; a Check does not automatically make an older study eligible.

How does the Ballast Guarantee fit?

The Ballast Guarantee covers every paid Ballast study: a Full Reserve Study or a Reserve Study Update, including one delivered through Live Reserve Service. It attaches when Ballast issues the paid study, and the issued study reproduces the full text. It guarantees that every replacement cost shows where it came from, that every calculation is right, and that the model runs correctly on the inputs and assumptions stated in the study. It does not guarantee future events no one controls, such as what components will cost, how long they will last, inflation, interest, and what a lender, insurer or agency decides, or that information supplied by the association or others is correct. If you tell Ballast in writing within one year of the issue date and name the figure or result you believe is wrong, and it is a covered error, Ballast corrects the study, reissues it at no charge and refunds the fee you paid for it. For a study delivered through Live Reserve Service, the refund is the standalone price of that study type at the time it issued, up to the annual fee you paid. A Study Check is a complimentary tool and is not covered. Read the full Ballast Guarantee.

Sources

• Study Check - document review and supported next action.

• Full Reserve Study - property-specific study scope.

• Live Reserve Service - reviewed changes after an issued baseline.

• The Ballast Guarantee - full text of what a paid study covers and the remedy.

• Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-03 and Full Review Process - current and scheduled requirements discussed in the linked funding answer.

Primary sources accessed October 6, 2026. Ballast product and engagement authority reviewed October 21, 2026.