When fraud is discovered in the context of community associations, or any non-profit, it usually takes shape as embezzlement over many years by a trusted member or employee. Insurance companies that defend non-profit clients from fraud…
Too often, association boards—and condo residents—discover serious coverage gaps in their insurance policies in the face of a claim. And often, the gap occurs when neither group wants to pay a high deductible. In recent years,…
I think there’s this mindset when they buy a condo that they’re not responsible for anything,” says Robert Masse of W.T. Phelan Insurance. As a quarter-century veteran of condo insurance, the Arlington, Massachusetts-based Masse has ofte…
In an online forum, Sharon complains about her upstairs neighbor and begs for advice. Her neighbor had installed a washing machine in her unit, even though there was one already downstairs for the residents of her six-unit building to …
Susan Jones wants to join the board of trustees. She’s been a unit owner for a few years and really believes that she can make a difference to the association. When it comes to co-op and condo boards, many members join because they have…
Blizzards. Ice Storms. Hurricanes. New Englanders are used to being buffeted by Mother Nature. But increasingly, it seems, the impact of such storms has lingered long after the weather front blows through, with hundreds or thousands of…
Noise is a key quality-of-life problem for almost anyone living in a densely-packed urban environment. It’s the bane of many a condo-dweller’s existence, and over the years engineers, architects, and designers have tried any number of w…
Expect to find a sandy white beach, swimming pools, music venues, parks, bars, a plethora of restaurants, a thriving nightlife scene and a seafood festival that draws over 150,000 in the village district of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.…
For nearly 20 years, the Community Associations Institute (CAI) has recognized excellence in the practice of community law through the Falls Church, Virginia-based College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL). Of the tens of thousan…
Q We have an owner, with an interested buyer who is an inheritor in a trust, and wishes to purchase the unit with only the name of the trust on the deed. Is this sound policy for us to allow the deed to only show a trust’s name? What ki…