A buyer's agent walks into a showing on a Cherry Creek condo, likes the light, likes the layout, and asks one question before anything else: when was the last reserve study done. Not the monthly dues. Not the parking situation. The reserve study.
That question would have sounded strange three years ago. It doesn't now, and the reason is legislative, not anecdotal. Colorado passed HB 22-1387 in 2022, and the reserve-planning rules it created took effect January 1, 2025, pushing associations that once only needed a written policy about reserve planning toward actually producing and funding a real study, not just describing one on paper. Then, this spring, Governor Polis signed HB 26-1099 into law on April 13, 2026, and it became effective August 12, 2026, requiring developers of new communities to commission a professional 30-year reserve study before handing control to the homeowners. Two laws, about a year apart, are now both fully in force, and both point the same direction: Colorado is closing the gap between "we have a policy about this" and "we actually did the work."
For a Cherry Creek seller, that shift changes what a smooth closing looks like. The dues number on the listing sheet was never the risk indicator buyers assumed it was. The reserve study is, and now the paperwork trail is catching up to that fact.
What the Dues Number Actually Tells You
Cherry Creek North mixes building types in a way few Denver neighborhoods do. Boutique townhomes sit blocks from mid-rise buildings and full-service towers, and entry-level condos here started around $700,000 as of early 2026, with the neighborhood's median home price sitting near $1.5 million and penthouses running past $10 million. HOA dues track that same spread: boutique townhome associations tend to run roughly $200 to $600 a month, mid-rise buildings with limited amenities land closer to $350 to $800, and full-service towers with staffed lobbies and heated garages often run $700 to $1,500 or more.
None of those numbers, on their own, tell a buyer anything useful. A $400 monthly fee could sit on top of a fully funded, professionally studied reserve account, or it could be masking a building that's one bad hailstorm away from a five-figure special assessment. The dues are the visible number. The reserve study is the number that determines whether the visible number holds steady or spikes.
That's the shift buyers' agents have made, and it's the reason "what are the dues" has quietly become the wrong first question in a Cherry Creek condo tour.
Where the Deal Actually Slows Down
The friction doesn't show up at listing. It shows up during financing.
Lenders reviewing condo loans look past the sale price to the health of the project itself. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated their approved lending requirements for HOAs this year, and under the current rules an association's budget must generally set aside at least 15 percent for reserves, though a lower amount is acceptable if the association has a professional reserve study less than three years old. That's the mechanism in plain terms: a building without a recent study has to hit the higher bar with cash alone, while a building with one gets more room to work with. If a building can't clear either path, financing gets harder to place, and that's true whether the buyer is well qualified or not. The building's paperwork becomes part of the underwriting file.
Buyers who do get through underwriting still carry exposure on the other side. HO-6 policies, the personal condo insurance owners carry for interiors and liability, often include loss assessment coverage. But that coverage frequently caps out well below what an actual special assessment costs, especially on the kind of large capital item, roof, elevator, façade, that reserve studies exist to plan for. A buyer who assumes their HO-6 policy will absorb a surprise assessment is often wrong about the math.
And the trigger for those assessments is rarely mysterious. Front Range hail and wind claims have pushed insurance premiums and deductibles up across the state, and Colorado real estate attorneys point to that combination as a leading driver of special assessments in condo and townhome associations, particularly when reserves weren't funded deeply enough to absorb a large deductible after a single claim. A building that skipped its reserve study for the last five years isn't hypothetically exposed to this. It's next in line for it.
| Building Type in Cherry Creek | Typical Monthly Dues | What Usually Drives the Range |
|---|---|---|
| Boutique townhome HOA (e.g., older 1960s-era corporations) | ~$200-$600 | Fewer shared systems, but often older infrastructure and thinner reserves |
| Mid-rise building, limited amenities | ~$350-$800 | Elevator, roof, and garage upkeep shared across a moderate unit count |
| Full-service luxury tower | ~$700-$1,500+ | Staffing, amenities, and larger capital systems, but usually more disciplined reserve funding |
The table isn't a ranking of safety. A boutique HOA with a current, professional reserve study and disciplined funding can be a safer bet than a luxury tower coasting on an outdated internal study. The number that separates them isn't in the dues column.
What a Seller Should Have Ready
Colorado's Common Interest Ownership Act already requires associations to keep a copy of the most recent reserve study, if one exists, and make it available to owners on request. What's changed isn't the existence of that rule so much as how seriously buyers, agents, and lenders now treat it during due diligence. The Colorado Division of Real Estate distinguishes regular assessments, the predictable monthly dues, from special assessments, the ad hoc charges tied to a specific repair or shortfall. Buyers now want to know which category they're walking into before they write an offer.
Before listing a Cherry Creek condo or townhome, it's worth having on hand:
- The association's most recent reserve study, and if there isn't one, a clear answer about when the last professional review happened
- Twelve to twenty-four months of board meeting minutes
- The current annual budget and reserve funding policy
- Any special assessment history, planned or completed, in the last two to three years
- The master insurance policy summary, including the deductible amount and how it gets allocated to owners after a claim
None of this is paperwork a seller assembles overnight. A reserve study alone typically runs $2,000 to $8,000 depending on the building's size and complexity, and takes two to six weeks from site visit to final report. Sellers who start that process the week they decide to list are starting late. Sellers who start it the season before are the ones whose deals don't stall in underwriting.
This is the same instinct that drives good pre-listing prep on the single-family side of the market, where a construction background changes what gets fixed before photos go up rather than after an inspection flags it. The condo version of that instinct is knowing which document the buyer's lender will ask for and having it ready before they ask.
FAQ
Does Colorado require every HOA to have a reserve study? Not on a fixed schedule, no. Colorado law requires associations to adopt a written policy addressing reserve funding and study practices, and recent legislation has pushed hard toward regular professional studies becoming the practical standard, especially for condominium associations with major shared building components. The law for new communities transitioning from developer to homeowner control is more direct: a professional 30-year study is now required before that handoff happens.
What happens if a Cherry Creek building doesn't have a current reserve study? It's not automatically a legal problem for the seller, but it's a practical one. Lenders reviewing condo financing look at reserve funding as part of project eligibility, and a building without a recent study or a demonstrated funding plan can be harder to finance, which narrows the buyer pool and can slow or complicate a sale.
Are special assessments something a buyer can negotiate around? Sometimes. A known, upcoming assessment can be negotiated as a seller credit or handled through an escrow holdback, but that only works if it's disclosed and quantified before contract deadlines close. Buyers and their agents should keep financing and inspection contingencies active until the association's financial documents have actually been reviewed, not just requested.
If you're weighing a sale in Cherry Creek and want a straight read on where your building's HOA documents stand before a buyer's agent asks, Debbie Jacobs, Selling Denver can help you get ahead of it. Book an appointment and let's look at what your reserve fund actually says about your listing.
