Sometimes the future seems like it’s an awfully long way away. If a roof is going to last 30 years, why should we worry about it today? Same with that shiny new boiler or that flat, crack-free pavement just poured two summers ago. Eventual…
While natural disasters causing catastrophic property damages are on the rise, associations also have to be prepared for other unexpected pitfalls such as a roof repair and replacement project or the installation of a new heating and cooli…
These days, just about everyone is cutting back on spending, either to make ends meet, saving for something special or a rainy day, paying off debt or funding their retirement. Consumers are cutting coupons, looking for deals and keeping a…
Looking at the balance in an association’s reserve account, a homeowner could easily feel complacent. After all, a quarter-million dollars is a lot of money. Maybe—or maybe not. If the condominium comprises 200 units, is nearin…
Budgets and financial reports provide a crystal-clear picture of how the association is doing. From an investment perspective, they show how unit owners, managers, tenants, building owners, board of trustees, etc., whether the property…
Just as families are encouraged to set aside a portion of the household budget into a savings account, so are community associations advised to maintain a reserve fund for capital improvements—repairs and replacements of major common-ow…
During the 1940s, Willie Sutton developed a lucrative niche of robbing banks. During his unapproved withdrawals, he sometimes made use of ingenious disguises. Those were the days when grand larceny took place in a bank lobby rather tha…
Q I am the president of our condo association and I am in favor of creating reserve funding. Over the last 40 some years, our residents have voted down the establishment of a reserve. I would like to recommend to the owners a general p…
lthough they are supposed to have a so-called reserve account to cover anticipated capital expenses—roof replacements, exterior maintenance, elevator upkeep, and the like—many condominiums, especially in the last few years of economic …
It’s been a roller-coaster ride wild enough to churn even the sturdiest of stomachs: Unemployment is up, property values down, bankruptcies rising, sales dipping and then lurching upward again. For many community associations,…