It can be easy for seasoned, veteran board members to recall both the excitement  and challenge of being elected to the post. For many, the first weeks and  months are a daunting experience requiring a learning curve that is not always  e…

 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…

 During the tough economic environment of the past few years, many condo owners  have faced job losses, pay decreases or just financial uncertainty.  Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to owners not paying their common charges.    …

 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…

Q Our board used to be nine members in the beginning but we made an amendment to reduce the size to seven members. Now we want to increase it to nine again because seven is not enough. Do we have to make another amendment? —A…

Q My question is about being elected to the board of a condo association in  Quincy, MA. We have a building management company hired by our board. Can the  management company executive be elected to the board? And does this executive  hav…

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 136 million tons  of construction and demolition waste was generated in 1996. That's the last  time these figures were made available, and the numbers have almost certainly  ri…

 Think about this: Nearly two million American workers report having been victims  of workplace violence each year and, in the United States, fraud committed by  employees costs companies approximately $20 billion annually. Workplace theft…

 Concern over health and an evolving legal landscape has prompted a number of  condo and co-op boards in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, as well as communities  across New England to ban cigarette smoking in individual smoking units. This  …

 A recent Massachusetts condo dispute over the proper disposal of pet waste is  the latest high-profile example of frivolous condo litigation—a long-running and costly problem for many HOAs. The incident eventually  escalated to the point …