For many condo properties—even those of recent vintage—existing telecommunications infrastructure may fall woefully short of that found in the average private home. But with the unique complications that arise when updating a condominiu…
The Roman god Janus had two faces that allowed him to look backward into the past and forward into the future. When thinking about end-of-the-year association finances, boards would do well to take a lesson from Janus and look back at …
Turn on the evening news, and you’ll get a good idea of the main topic on the minds of community association professionals as calendars flip to a new year: It’s all about the money. Like it or not, financial considerations affe…
Community association staff members are part of residents’ lives. Not only are they vibrant members of the community, they also often have access to units, mail, and personal information of people who live in the building. It’s crucial, …
It takes more than a watch dog and a dead bolt lock to feel secure these days. In a multi-housing setting, countless opportunities exist for hopeful crooks to infiltrate and commit crimes. Often, properties are cased for days, weeks or …
It’s not surprising that residents are more willing to invest in security for their home sweet home than they might be for other expenditures. Even in today’s difficult economy, providers say there’s little disagreement about choosing th…
In condominium communities, sometimes the most heinous crime a manager can recall is a pair of drunken football fans upending pots of mums and “watering” the foliage. Serious crimes are indeed rare within residential communities but it …
Our condo association, which is private, has a situation that seems to be going nowhere. One of the units in the association has been for sale for over 2 years and the owner has not paid their HOA dues in 3 plus years. We as the board f…
Q I am a member of the governing board for our condominium. One of our unit owners has a buyer for her unit and the buyer’s proposed mortgagee asked our board to sign one of the new FHA Project Certification forms—should we? —Sign…
For most of us, winter is dreary enough without worrying about the grit and grime that often accompanies it. From December through March, the snows that fall require almost non-stop attention, from making sure the sidewalks stay ice-fr…