Reserve Studies & Disclosure
A reserve study tells an association what its buildings will cost to maintain and whether it's setting aside enough to get there. Washington requires most associations, including many created before July 2018, to keep one current and to disclose it. Our HOA reserve study attorneys advise condominium and homeowners association boards in Bellevue, Seattle, and across the Eastside. We handle the legal side of reserves, funding, and the disclosures owners and buyers are owed.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
3
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Reserve study and disclosure attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle community associations
Oseran Hahn advises HOA and condominium boards on reserve studies, reserve funding, and the disclosure obligations that go with them. WUCIOA requires a current reserve study and a funding plan for the major repairs every community eventually faces, and the resale certificates the association gives sellers have to disclose the reserve picture accurately. The reserve-study requirement also applies to most communities created before July 2018 (RCW 64.90.365), and starting January 1, 2028, WUCIOA will govern nearly all Washington associations (RCW 64.90.360). We keep boards compliant and use the study as the tool it should be, not a checkbox.
Reserves are where a community's long-term financial health is won or lost, and Washington now regulates both the planning and the disclosure. We make sure the association's reserve study meets the statutory requirements; we advise on funding the reserve account and ratifying the budget that pays for it; we get the resale-certificate disclosures right when owners sell; we handle the offering-statement disclosures for new and expanding projects; and we use the study to justify assessments and defend the board if funding decisions are challenged.
The reserve study requirement
WUCIOA requires an association to prepare and regularly update a reserve study, a professional projection of when the major common-element components will need repair or replacement and what that will cost (RCW 64.90.545), with the contents the statute specifies (RCW 64.90.550). The point is to see the big expenses coming, a roof, a facade, an elevator, decades out, rather than discovering them as emergencies. The study must be updated every year, and at least every third year the update must come from a reserve study professional after a visual site inspection. The requirement also applies to most communities created before July 1, 2018 (RCW 64.90.365), so an older board that has never commissioned a study may already be out of compliance. We tell boards what the law requires and when.
Reserve funding and the budget
A reserve study is only useful if the association funds toward it. WUCIOA governs the reserve account and the withdrawals from it (RCW 64.90.535; RCW 64.90.540), and the board sets the contribution through the annual budget the owners ratify (RCW 64.90.525). Chronic underfunding is the most common reserve problem and the one that forces a painful special assessment when a big component fails. We advise boards on a funding plan that the statute supports and that the membership will actually approve, and on the disclosures required when reserves fall short.
Disclosure: the resale certificate
When an owner sells a unit, the association has to give the seller a resale certificate disclosing the association's finances, the current reserve study, the assessments, any pending litigation, and the other items the statute lists (RCW 64.90.640). The association has 10 days from the owner's request to provide it, and the preparation charge can't exceed $275. Accuracy matters: the buyer isn't liable for unpaid assessments greater than the amount the certificate shows, so an understated balance can cost the association money. We build a resale-certificate process that is complete, timely, and priced within the statute.
Offering statements for new and expanding projects
For communities still being developed or expanded, the declarant has to give buyers a public offering statement that lays out the budget, the projected assessments, and the reserve picture before they buy (RCW 64.90.610; RCW 64.90.625). Established boards rarely deal with this, but it matters on conversions, additional phases, and developer-controlled communities approaching transition. We prepare and review offering-statement disclosures so the financial picture presented to buyers is accurate and the association is not left answering for a declarant's optimistic numbers.
Enforcement and using the study
The reserve requirements have teeth: when more than three years have passed since the last professional study, owners holding at least 20 percent of the votes can demand one, and the board must put its cost in the next budget (RCW 64.90.555). Owners can also go to court to enforce the reserve-study rules, though apart from attorneys' fees and costs the statute bars money damages against the association and its board for reserve failures (RCW 64.90.560). More often, the study earns its keep by giving the board cover. When owners object to a dues increase or a special assessment, a current reserve study showing the funding was necessary is the board's best defense, and it ties directly to the directors' standard of care. We help boards treat the study as a planning and risk-management tool rather than a line item to minimize.
Two decades advising Eastside associations on reserves, funding, and disclosure, with attorneys who track the WUCIOA reserve rules and the 2026 changes that now reach older communities. We keep the board compliant and turn the reserve study into the funding and defense tool it should be.
We keep you compliant with the new rules.
Older associations often assume the reserve-study rules don't reach them, but most do (RCW 64.90.365), and the 2026 changes added more WUCIOA sections to that list. We tell boards exactly what now applies to them, so a missed requirement doesn't surface in a lawsuit or a failed sale.
We get the disclosures right.
A resale certificate that understates what an owner owes leaves the association unable to collect the difference from the buyer, and an owner can sue over a late or badly prepared certificate. We build a disclosure process that's accurate, on time, and priced within what the statute allows.
We turn the study into leverage.
A current reserve study is the board's best answer to owners who fight a dues increase. We help boards use it to justify funding and defend the decision under the directors' standard of care.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
Are HOA reserve studies required in Washington?
Yes, for most associations. WUCIOA requires an association to prepare a reserve study, update it every year, and have a reserve study professional update it with a site inspection at least every third year (RCW 64.90.545). That requirement also applies to most communities created before July 1, 2018 (RCW 64.90.365). The statute exempts a few, such as communities with only nominal reserve costs or where the study would cost more than 10 percent of the annual budget, unless the governing documents require one anyway. We confirm what applies to your community.
What is the rule of thumb for HOA reserves?
In Washington, the rule of thumb is your own reserve study, not a fixed percentage. The statute doesn't set a single required balance, but it requires a reserve study and governs the reserve account (RCW 64.90.545; RCW 64.90.535). Each budget the owners ratify must say whether the association has a compliant reserve study, how far the budget departs from it, and the current reserve surplus or shortfall per unit (RCW 64.90.525). The practical answer comes from the study: fund toward the repairs it projects, because underfunding is what forces special assessments later.
What is a resale certificate for a condo in Washington state?
A resale certificate is the disclosure package a selling owner gives the buyer before signing a purchase contract, signed for the association and based on its records (RCW 64.90.640). It covers the association's finances and budget, the current reserve study, assessments, pending litigation, insurance, and more, and it must warn the buyer if there is no current reserve study. The association has 10 days from the owner's request to provide it and can charge no more than $275 to prepare it. Accuracy matters, because the buyer isn't liable for unpaid assessments greater than the certificate shows. We make the process complete and compliant.
What are the key changes to the Washington HOA laws in 2026?
For older associations, one key 2026 change is that more of WUCIOA now applies to them. The parts of ESSB 5129 that took effect January 1, 2026, added several WUCIOA sections to the list that already governs communities created before July 1, 2018 (RCW 64.90.365). Reserve studies were already on that list, so an older HOA's reserve-study duty didn't start in 2026. Starting January 1, 2028, WUCIOA governs nearly all Washington associations (RCW 64.90.360). We tell boards exactly which requirements apply to their community now.
An owner is challenging our special assessment for a big repair. Are we protected?
A current reserve study is your best defense. If it shows the repair was anticipated and the funding was necessary, the board's decision is far easier to defend under its standard of care. Where reserves were underfunded, we help the board document the basis for the assessment and address any owner challenge, with the trial group available if it escalates.
When should we bring in a lawyer on reserves?
When you're not sure the new requirements apply to you, when a sale is pending and a resale certificate has to go out, and before a contested dues increase or special assessment. Early advice keeps the board compliant with the 2026 rules and turns the reserve study into protection rather than exposure.
Reserve-study compliance, funding strategy, resale-certificate disclosures, and the 2026 WUCIOA changes for Washington community associations.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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