Pay no attention to the talking heads. The national media may be focusing on subprime mortgage scandals and far-flung neighborhoods teeming with foreclosures, but in Eastern Massachusetts, at least, the inventory of unsold properties has…

This month, I was a bit late submitting my column to the editors, I even had to ask for an extension of a few days, and I don't even recall asking for an extension in college. So, that does not make me feel good. The editors were gr…

Given the growing interest in green building practices and energy conservation, homeowners everywhere, including in condominiums, are faced with many questions and challenges. As with most new technologies, we need to know which technolo…

Many of today's condominium owners depend as much on Internet access as they do on electricity, heat, and water. After all, who needs the fridge to run if you can't get online to order the groceries or take-out? Who needs a morning showe…

The concern spread this fall like a highly-contagious disease. Schools across the nation were closed so that cleaning crews could sweep through with disinfecting agents after a number of students developed staph infections, and two stude…

Of the many questions confronting a business owner today, one of the most complex and emotional is that of language diversity. In the condo management field, we already have too many challenges, from being on beeper 24/7, to volunteers c…

The fastest growing segment of our population is the 70 and over age group and a growing percentage of people in this age range want to remain in the comfort and security of their own homes for as long as possible. One of the greatest ob…

If they haven't left already, the remaining "snowbirds" will shortly depart for their warm and snug Sunbelt condominiums. Left behind will be scowling residents scraping ice off their windshields and shorthanded association boards — many…

A hallmark of community associations is their ability to enforce nonpayment of assessments by resorting to the remedy of foreclosure - long recognized in the law as a forfeiture of property. Over time, courts and legislatures have strugg…

My daughter Susan is taking a college course in Education, which requires her to volunteer an hour a day at an educational institution. She was lucky to get a volunteer slot at her college daycare center. She was telling me how cute the …