Q. I am a trustee at a 50-unit condominium association in Massachusetts and I have a question. There are two condominium owners involved. One owner lives above the other owner. The upstairs owner had a minor leak from a shower head. It …
Q. I live in a 40-unit condo building with a no-pets amendment dating back from 1980. A woman purchased a unit and has been seen with a dog, and the dog barks all the time. She signed all the disclosure forms stating “no pets, no renters…
There’s an old adage that goes along the lines of, “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relatives.” That’s true of the people you serve with on your co-op or condo board. Board politics, like all politics, can get uncomfortab…
A democracy fares best when it is proportionally representative of its constituents. For all intents and purposes, the board of a condominium, cooperative or homeowners’ association is a democratically-elected entity, and as such, one could…
The key to any healthy relationship is good communication. That holds especially true for the sometimes-delicate dialogues that take place among residents, shareholders, board members, and managers in co-ops and condos of all sizes and conf…
Q. At the most recent open board meeting, seven contracts were approved by the HOA board. Some of the contracts were not put to competitive bid. The board indicated that these (including snow clearing) were “renewals,” and that the board…
Just as it was last year, the real estate market, including the market for co-ops, condos and HOAs, is on an upswing. The economy seems to have largely (if not completely) recovered from the 2007-08 recession, and professionals don’t see an…
A condominium, cooperative or homeowners’ association thrives or falters based on how all of the various stakeholders involved can come together in effort to achieve a common goal: the maintenance of a successful and stable residential comm…
Owning a unit in a multifamily co-op or condo carries a great many benefits in the form of shared responsibilities, but it also requires compromises along the lines of control: what your board, management, and building staff can or cannot d…
Everyone can use a little help now and again. The residents of condominiums, co-ops or homeowners’ associations are no exception. There are tons of tasks that just cannot be left up to the board or residents, who are busy people themselves,…