DO HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS NEED RESERVE FUNDS?

An Opinion By Jan Bergemann

Published November 11, 2025

During discussions regarding reserve funds I always hear from owners of property in homeowners’ associations (HOAs regulated by FS 720) that they really don’t need reserve funds because the homes are insured by the owners and owners are as well responsible for repairs to their property.

But many of these owners forget that most associations own amenities, like club house pool, tennis courts and even golf courses. Amenities that are often very expensive to maintain and repair.

And while in many of the older homeowners’ associations have roads that belong to county or city, most of the newer communities own the roads and – as a community in Eustis just realized, the bridges in or leading to the community -- meaning the association is responsible for maintenance and repair – and that is a lot more expensive than most of the owners estimate.

Roads have a very limited life-time, especially since the developers are allowed to build sub-par roads, roads that wouldn’t even pass city or county guidelines. And these “roads” and bridges deteriorate much faster than even many so-called reserve-specialists estimate.

And that is when the owners have a “bad” awakening and everybody complaints about the special assessment that needs to be levied in order to pay for the repair. I even know communities which ignore the fact that the bridge that is part of the community is actually the responsibility of the community, claiming that the bridge was already there when the first owners moved in. Ask the folks in Eustis how they feel now about the bridge being part of the association.

Shouldn’t all these examples be a good reason for homeowners living in associations to change their opinion about reserve funds?