As Kermit the Frog once sang, it’s not easy being green. In many cases, going, “green” for condominium units (which can encompass a wide range of practices) comes with paperwork, additional maintenance, and, least app…
Talk of green homes these days often evokes images of roof gardens, solar collectors and even wind turbines humming in the background. But for most homes, including condominiums, “going green” comes in much smaller measures. Individua…
Condominium managers, boards and residents have long known the benefits of clustered housing. They know first-hand what it is like to live in a community with others. They've been able to enjoy the smaller ecological footprint of highe…
A property manager’s day often begins at daybreak with a flood of messages and continues at a frenetic pace until evening board meetings. But no two days are alike; each day poses a new challenge. Managers must respond to emai…
National Public Radio recently ran a story about a piece of advice from the latest edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The suggestion was about how to stay warm throughout the winter with just one log: chuck it out of an upstairs window, r…
This winter, when the cold winds of winter whip down from Canada or Nor'easters swirl up the coast bringing tons of snow, condominium residents will head to that thermostat and crank up the heat. Unfortunately, each twist of the thermost…
We diligently sort our recycling. We drive our hybrids to the nearby market to buy locally-produced organic food. We are looking for ways to live more harmoniously with the planet. Real estate developers have carefully noted this trend, …
From your neighbor’s spiffy hybrid automobile to Leonardo DiCaprio’s “célèbre-green” status, it’s clear that increased attention to the environment is both vitally important and in vogue. It is also clear that there is huge savings poten…
They pay the same property taxes, and pull electricity from the same wires; their residents go to the same schools and libraries, and vote for the same municipal officials. Yet there is one marked difference between many condominiums and…
With winter finally behind us and summer just around the corner, New Englanders are happy to be shedding their winter gear for shorts and t-shirts and, before we know it, swimsuits. But before that first belly flop into the sparkling cle…