Operating expenses
Maintenance Reserve
A planning reserve for routine repairs; the appropriate amount depends on the property's systems, condition, service history, and operating plan.
Why Maintenance Reserve matters
Building age is only a screening signal, not a reserve multiplier. Size maintenance and capital reserves from the inspection, remaining useful life of major systems, service history, quotes, warranties, and an explicit contingency for unknowns.
How to check Maintenance Reserve before you rely on it
Size the reserve from the inspection report, not from a percentage. List every major system with its age and expected remaining life, note what the report flags for repair now, and price the near-term items with contractor quotes. Ask the seller for the maintenance and service history and compare it to the condition you observed. Then set the monthly reserve so the near-term repairs and the routine items are both covered, and keep it separate from the capital reserve for full replacements.
Related terms
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Where Maintenance Reserve shows up in TrueCap
Operating expenses are line items in the analyzer's expense section, each labeled with its source — a HUD or FRED benchmark, a TrueCap default you can replace, or your own number. Property tax is always your local figure. Together they produce NOI and cash flow after reserves, and the results view shows how much each one moves the decision.