No HOA reserves but operating funds look good - should I run?

[Sinead Norenius]

Hi BP Community! Total newbie here - so bear with me if this question is obvious to others! My husband and I considering putting in an offer on a small 1-bedroom 1 bathroom condo in St. Petersburg, FL. Using the DealCheck app everything looks great from a cash flow/expenses perspective, however, when I asked the RE agent some questions about the HOA, I discovered that the HOA does not have and reserves. She did provide all the operating expenses etc from 2018 and everything looked good but how concerned should I be about the HOA not having any extra reserves? She said some HOA's don't have reserves and that is pretty typical if they have robust operating reserves. She also manages the condos too just as a frame of reference. Totally open to any and all advice on HOA's and what I should look out for in terms of this topic!

Thank you in advance! 

[Theresa Harris]

@Sinead Norenius How far back do to the financials go? Without any reserves, if you need to fix something, there will be special assessments. Even with reserves if the HOA isn't run properly, you can have issues.