Busy buildings, steady wear
A complex in Nashua or Bedford sees owners every day of the year. Hallway carpet, clubhouse kitchens, pool equipment and fitness rooms are used constantly, so a study here tends to carry more interior lines than a lake community would.
Paving is often the largest item after roofs. Parking lots that are plowed and salted every winter crack and heave on a fairly predictable schedule, and the study should price a mill-and-overlay as well as crack sealing in between.
Snow loads in the valley
The Army Corps of Engineers’ cold regions laboratory in Hanover set the design ground snow loads New Hampshire towns use. Nashua is listed at 60 pounds per square foot at 400 feet, Manchester and Concord at 70. That is half what Jackson carries, but enough that roof framing and replacement deserve a careful line.
Older complexes, second and third roofs
Many associations around Manchester are now replacing roofs, siding and windows for the second time. A study that has not been updated in five years or more may be pricing those jobs in old dollars; ask the firm to rebuild the cost lines rather than inflate the old ones.
The law is the same statewide
Wherever the community sits, the Condominium Act applies the same way: a budget owners can reject, reserves shown in the budget summary, and reserve statements for buyers on resale. The Condominium Act and reserves covers it.
Questions from Manchester and Nashua
Does Manchester or Nashua require a reserve study?
Neither city has its own rule that we could find, and state law does not require one either. The declaration or bylaws of your association may, so read them first.
How long does a study take here?
For a typical complex, firms usually visit within a few weeks of being hired and send a draft a few weeks after that. Ask about timing if your budget meeting is close.
Elsewhere in the state: Seacoast, Lakes Region, White Mountains.