Susan Jones wants to join the board of trustees. She’s been a unit owner for a few years and really believes that she can make a difference to the association. When it comes to co-op and condo boards, many members join because they have…
In an online forum, Sharon complains about her upstairs neighbor and begs for advice. Her neighbor had installed a washing machine in her unit, even though there was one already downstairs for the residents of her six-unit building to …
I think there’s this mindset when they buy a condo that they’re not responsible for anything,” says Robert Masse of W.T. Phelan Insurance. As a quarter-century veteran of condo insurance, the Arlington, Massachusetts-based Masse has ofte…
Too often, association boards—and condo residents—discover serious coverage gaps in their insurance policies in the face of a claim. And often, the gap occurs when neither group wants to pay a high deductible. In recent years,…
When fraud is discovered in the context of community associations, or any non-profit, it usually takes shape as embezzlement over many years by a trusted member or employee. Insurance companies that defend non-profit clients from fraud…
Q Our property manager wants to buy a unit in our condo community but a lot of owners are not happy about it. Is that a conflict of interest? Do we have any legal power in this manner? Please advise. —Becoming a Buyer …
Q Last year the parents of several teens purchased a portable basketball standard and asked the board permission to put it in a location where their children can use it and the board agreed. Given the layout of our property the only pla…
Q Our condo community is considering converting a large community room into a gym and kids play space, separated from each other by a child fence. Are there any Massachusetts codes surrounding establishing gyms in residential buildings …
When you think of New Bedford, Massachusetts, several things come immediately to mind—commercial fisheries, factory outlet stores, textile mills, and of course, whaling. Located in Bristol County, 51 miles south of Boston, and…
As summer thunderstorms buffet condo properties throughout New England, less-than weather-tight windows, doors, and roofs may begin to make themselves known. And though condo boards never enjoy addressing the perennial problem of weath…