As someone who is highly invested in the building inspection space, I am always interested in the latest findings and advancements of the new building inspection laws in Florida. As you may as well know, SB-4D was created and passed in 5 days during an emergency session in 2022. Given the short time frame, the bill is littered with many issues, some of which are being addressed in an upcoming bill (SB-154). An unaddressed issue in both SB-4D and SB-154 is the broad, yet challenging nature of the Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS). I’ve spoken with many reserve specialists (RS) who have almost uniformly rejected the notion of adding a SIRS to their list of services. To me, it didn’t make sense considering these are the experts within the Reserve Study community, the exact people who should be taking on this challenge directly. After taking a deep dive into the law and receiving a considerable amount of information from the reserve specialist community, one realizes that the Structural Integrity Reserve Study is unlike any previous Reserve Study ever performed and requires highly technical trade inspection expertise like never before.
What is a SIRS?
Before I jump too far ahead, it is important to understand what SIRS is. By the definition within the updated SB-154 law on page 15, a SIRS is “a study of the reserve funds required for future major repairs and replacement of the condominium property”. Reserve funds come from pesky monthly fees paid to an association whenever you live within a condominium or area with a governing association. Some Florida condominium associations have been waiving reserve funds for decades meaning there are no reserves to pay for major repairs or replacements. The new laws prohibit any waiving of reserves which will undeniably help with building maintenance. An unfortunate side effect is the people living there may take on a higher monthly cost which might lead them to sell.
How is a SIRS Different?
For those who haven’t lived within an association, there is a monthly fee that must be paid to the Home Owners Association (HOA) or Condo Association Manager (CAM) which goes into a reserve. Fail to pay the fee and fines will follow. A normal reserve fund typically includes items such as paving the street, painting the buildings, replacing old gates or fences, etc., etc. which is meant to keep up the aesthetics and value of the property. A SIRS is different. A SIRS has eight categories:
- Roof
- Structure, including load-bearing walls and or other primary structural members and primary structural systems
- Fireproofing and fire protection systems
- Plumbing
- Electrical systems
- Waterproofing and exterior painting
- Windows and exterior doors
- Any other item that has a deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost that exceeds $10,000 and the failure to replace or maintain such item negatively affects the items listed above.
The bill requires each of these categories to be given a remaining useful life value and begin the process of reserving funds for the repair or replacement of these items. In theory, this task is an easy math problem, but in practice, this task is far too broad which may leave homeowners either overpaying, or worse, at risk. For example, how much of the SIRS is an inspection or a calculation? Is it ethical to use a formula to predict a fire system sprinkler head has a remaining useful life of 20 years, yet the next day it doesn’t work when there is a fire?
A complete and thorough inspection with licensed inspectors will undoubtedly lose every bid since the prices will be outrageous. On the other hand, if an inspector goes the simple math route and something happens that an inspection could’ve easily identified, I can imagine mountains of lawsuits hitting the company’s desk before the inspector can say “remaining useful life”. I see the situation as a classic ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’.
Moving forward
Either way, 1-Day Inspections will be here to help guide you in this messy playground. We have the tools and partnerships within the industry to give you knowledgeable ideas, feedback, or pricing on a SIRS. We will update you on any new information on our blog within the building inspection space as always. We pride ourselves on helping standards and practices evolve to adopt this new inspection and to help unlock valuable insight.
Sincerely,
Dylan Robbins
Founder & President
1-Day Inspections