Q. I own a condo. My building has charged me a fee of $300 and I don't think it is fair. A friend visited me in my apartment a month ago. She was cooking a meal and inadvertently left one of the burners slightly on without a flame. A neig…
As in life, there are no guarantees when it comes to building systems, parts, and components. But unlike life, there are warranties and service agreements to ease the pain when something breaks down, gets damaged, or proves to be defective.…
From news to politics to finding that ultimate barbecue recipe or just staying connected to family and friends, social media has become entwined in the fabric of our lives. In fact, it’s so ubiquitous that it may come as a surprise to learn…
To describe the life of a property manager as ‘busy’ is an understatement. From visiting client properties to answering board member and resident queries to fielding bids from contractors, a manager’s work is never completely done. That’s w…
Over the past few years, millennials (generally regarded as those born between 1981 and 1996) have become the largest and most important demographic group for marketing products and services – including homes. What separates millennials fro…
Q. Most of the members of our condo board are retired, and recently voted to hold board meetings at 1 p.m. instead of our traditional 7 p.m. because afternoons are convenient for them. The other two board members — and the majority of un…
Q. Our association recently hired a new management company, and an announcement was sent to the homeowners announcing the change. A new board initiated this action with no input from homeowners and no discussion. I have specifically reque…
When making the choice to purchase a condo or a co-op apartment, many buyers choose a condominium to reduce the board’s involvement in the decisions they will make regarding their home. Condo boards’ authority over certain decisions and asp…
At the heart of volunteerism is the notion of doing something for the common good. For many, choosing to live in a co-op or condo community is also choosing volunteerism – specifically, volunteering for board service. But within that sense …
Community living comes with lots of rules and regulations – many of which are codified in largely static, hard-to-amend governing documents like proprietary leases and condominium declarations. Others are laid out in the more flexible cont…