Q. I live in a small HOA, and our same board has been in place for over a decade. We hold annual elections as per our governing documents, but we can’t get anyone else in the building to serve, and none of us can step down because our gov…
As electric vehicles (EVs) have become more popular, more and more reports of fires and explosions caused by the lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that power them have made the news from coast to coast. Any fire in a multifamily setting is inc…
Securing residents’ property and personal safety has always been of primary concern for shared interest communities, be they high-rises, townhomes, or suburban HOAs. A generation ago, security technology was pretty much limited to human gua…
Despite their sizable influence, and the fact that their members are residents of the communities they govern, condominium and co-op boards are often misunderstood. What can they do? What can’t they do? Can they approve a request from one r…
Q. As we all know, the cost of everything including services and materials related to maintaining an association property has risen dramatically over the last couple of years. Clearly, our association budget and monthly fees should be su…
Q. Many owners in our association have questions about what happens at our monthly board meetings. Our board refuses to release any meeting minutes to the owners, and even told me that they do not record who voted for what in the meeting …
While climate change may have reduced the frequency of multi-foot snowfalls in the New York metro, when we do get dumped on, the precipitation tends to be heavier and icier than the fluffy drifts of decades past. With that shift comes conce…
At the bedrock of a shared interest community, like a condo or co-op, is how and by whom the property is managed. While self-management may make the most economic sense for smaller communities, and there are certainly good examples of effec…
It’s a truism that nothing lasts forever—and that includes management contracts. Shared interest communities change management companies all the time, and for a variety of reasons. Those reasons can range from cost to effectiveness and ever…
Q. I have reason to believe my condo board is misusing common funds and hiring friends and family to carry out work on our property instead of bidding out the jobs. There may even be kickbacks involved. When I’ve reached out to our manage…