Tag: Yvonne Zipp

Community Building Over and Under
2011 May Over and Under

These days, the over 55-community is looking a little younger. Faced with a troubled real-estate market, developers around the U.S. are taking steps to reduce age limits to 45 or, in some cases, to lift restrictions entirely. …

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Landscaping "The Contractor's Disappeared!"
2011 April "The Contractor's Disappeared!"

It’s the ultimate fear of anyone who has ever remodeled anything larger than a birdhouse: A month into the project, the contractor disappears – taking half the budgeted money and leaving a large hole in the building in exchange. …

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Energy Conservation Getting Away from Gas
2010 Sept Getting Away from Gas

When it comes to being green, New England’s condos have gone far beyond recycling bins. They’re doing everything from recycling water and switching to cleaner propane-powered gasoline lawnmowers to installing bike racks and walking trai…

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Insurance Not High and Dry
2010 August Not High and Dry

In April, Massachusetts officials estimated it would take $38 million to repair the damage to infrastructure caused by the deluge, and tens of thousands of residents across the region applied for disaster relief from the Federal Emerge…

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Landscaping Harvesting H2O
2010 April Harvesting H2O

When 70,000-plus football fans watch the New England Patriots play at Gillette Stadium, they are drawing on the water resources of Foxborough, Massachusetts, a community with only 29,000 residents. How can the small town keep up with…

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Maintenance Update or Upgrade?
2010 March Update or Upgrade?

Everyone agrees that condominiums need to be painted regularly. But ask what color should be used, and you could get as many answers as there are people living in the building. Aesthetic continuity can be extremely important to…

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Owner Relations Anger Management
2010 Feb Anger Management

For most people, “foaming at the mouth” is just an expression. Attorney Ellen Hirsch de Haan has encountered the real thing – and not at an animal shelter, but at a condominium owners’ meeting. A former president who recently h…

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Management Desperately Seeking Neighbors
2010 Jan Desperately Seeking Neighbors

A lot of people buy condominiums because they never want to have to mow a lawn or shovel snow again. But eight owners of University Park Lofts in Worcester, Massachusetts, had no choice after the developer at the mostly-vacant 37-unit …

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Security What's Secure
2009 Dec What's Secure

In today’s high-tech world, security can look a lot like a sci-fi movie. Golf carts can be equipped with laser systems that will read license plates and check them against a computer list of approved vehicles. Elevators will only travel…

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Maintenance Maintenance Deferred
2009 Nov Maintenance Deferred

If something’s broken, you fix it. If it's worn out, you replace it. It sounds like a simple equation, but when it comes to construction in cash-strapped times, it can be a case of easier said than done. As many condominiums’ f…

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