Condo Reality Check
Transparent calculations and questions for your condo documents.
Review the reserve fund study and plan, current financial statements and budget, minutes and notices, insurance documents, estoppel certificate and bylaws. Confirm dates, unit obligations, fee inclusions and missing information with the appropriate professionals. A calculator cannot establish reserve adequacy or predict assessments.
Condo costs and document questions
Listing information cannot establish reserve adequacy, future assessments or building condition. Compare documents for the same reporting date and discuss missing information with the corporation and appropriate professionals.
Alberta reserve-fund guidance explains the role of the study and plan. A balance ratio alone does not assess their adequacy.
Calculate from your documents
Leave any unknown amount blank. Enter a monthly fee only after confirming its frequency and inclusions.
These calculations do not score a building or predict a special assessment. A balance difference is not an owner levy; allocation and any assessment require the corporation's actual documents.
Questions for the document review
- Reserve study and plan: what dates, components, expected costs and contribution schedule do they cover? How does the current balance reconcile with that schedule?
- Budget and financial statements: what does this unit's fee include, and what changes have been approved?
- Minutes and notices: what work, assessments, disputes or unresolved questions are recorded?
- Insurance: what coverage, exclusions and deductibles apply? Ask your insurance professional about your unit policy.
- Estoppel certificate and bylaws: what obligations, unit factors, use restrictions and approvals apply to this unit?
Documents can identify recorded obligations and planned work; they cannot guarantee that no future cost will arise.
Ask about the building
I can help identify the documents and questions to discuss, and when a qualified document reviewer, lawyer or insurance professional is needed. This calculator does not mean the building's documents have been reviewed.
Questions
Can a reserve balance ratio establish that a building is healthy?
No. It is arithmetic using two amounts for the same corporation and date. The study assumptions, contribution plan, component condition and planned work need review. Missing inputs do not support a conclusion.
Is the difference between reserve balances an assessment estimate?
No. It does not establish that an assessment is planned or how costs would be allocated to a unit. Check the actual corporation documents and obtain appropriate professional advice.
Can I compare condo fees per square foot?
Only after confirming the fee frequency, area units and fee inclusions for each unit. This tool accepts confirmed monthly fees and square feet. A lower or higher fee alone does not establish building quality.
Sources
- Government of Alberta: Reserve funds under the Condominium Property Act
- CMHC: Condominium buyer's guide — Alberta fact sheet
- Insurance Bureau of Canada: Home insurance basics
- Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA): Alberta real estate regulator
Rules, fees and programs change. Confirm current details with the issuing authority before acting.
Last updated 2026-09-28 · Written by Mohammad Emon, REALTOR® (SRES®) & Licensed Property Manager, KO Realty · RECA licence CON-00133897