Definition: A guideline provided by Lenders that suggests the minimum required replacement reserves (or capital expenditures) for the proposed loan. This guideline is based on numerous factors including property type, loan amount, proposed loan to value and debt service coverage, and numerous physical, financial and tenancy factors identified in the proposed loan. Unless manually adjusted by the Originator or Lender, typically this guideline is used as the default value to calculate loan results. Replacement reserves are various account(s) maintained (typically by the Lender) to provide funds for anticipated expenditures required to maintain a building. A reserve account usually is required by a lender in the form of an escrow to pay upcoming taxes and insurance costs. A replacement reserve is usually an amount set aside from net operating income to pay for the eventual wearing out of short—lived assets; monthly deposits that a lender may require a borrower to a reserve in an account, along with principal and interest payments for future capital improvements of major building systems (e.g. HVAC, parking lot, carpets, roof, etc.). Replacement reserves are typically calculated on a per unit basis (e.g. multifamily - per unit; office, retail, industrial - per square foot; etc.).
