If you want to reduce the likelihood of assessments, you will need to maintain a reserve fund. In this fund, you set aside money for emergencies and for replacing expensive items that are not covered by your regular monthly condo fees. A good capital improvement budget can be presented as a six column table:

• Column 1: Item. For example, tile, carpeting, indoor lighting, outdoor lighting, emergency lighting, intercoms, boiler, hot water tank, fire alarm, roof, siding, chimneys, storm windows, entrance doors, walkways, driveways, plumbing system, electrical system, and so on.
• Column 2: Age. Estimate the age of each item. If you don't know, take an educated guess and make a note to ask the next serviceperson who visits your building if s/he can tell you how old something is, e.g., a plumber can give a good educated guess on the age of a hot water tank or plumbing system.
• Column 3: Remaining life. Estimate how much longer the item will last.
• Column 4: Size or quantity. How big is the hot water tank? How many square feet of roofing do you need? Estimate these things, as they are important to estimating the cost.
• Column 5: Replacement costs. Estimate how much it will cost to replace each item.
• Column 6: Annual contribution. Divide the Replacement Costs by the Remaining Life to determine how much you need to save each year.