The first of the month rolls around and it’s time to pay the monthly dues that keep the building operational. Repairs might need to be made, maintenance done, bills paid to keep all the common elements running and those dues make it all hap…
Whether your community is a condo, HOA, or co-op, proper record-keeping is the difference between a healthy property and one headed toward peril. And while meeting minutes and election results require well-organized documentation, records s…
More than a thousand board members, trustees, managers, building owners and exhibitors flooded the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston on Tuesday, May 24th for The New England Condominium Expo, an annual one-day event now in its eighth yea…
Q. I’m trying to get information on or determine what specifically a board cannot assess owners for. Our bylaws are extremely clear on what we can assess for—largely major improvements for the building. However, what can’t or shouldn’t the…
Q. I am the president of an association in Massachusetts. We have been under the impression that if an owner is delinquent in paying a monthly fee that an automatic lien is created on the property, thus preventing such owner from voting…
Let’s imagine that your boss invites you to a group dinner to celebrate her recent promotion. At dinner, you have a tasty salad and one glass of the house red, but your colleagues all have multiple cocktails; somebody orders the surf-and-tu…
Not every condominium or homeowners’ association is going to run afoul of the law—the happy truth is that litigation and legal trouble are relatively rare occurrences. But even the most upstanding board of trustees in New England must navig…
No one likes a lawsuit. Whether filing one or finding yourself on the receiving end of one, they can cause stress, anxiety and an upending of daily life. They can be expensive, take months—even years—to resolve, and often result in hurt fee…
Whether you serve on the board of a co-op, condo or HOA, chances are you and your fellow community administrators are volunteers. Perhaps you’re fortunate enough that you or one of your colleagues has professional legal expertise to bring t…
The legislative season is upon us, and in many states, bills specifically dealing with condos, co-ops and HOAs are wending their way through the legislative process. Even when bills aren’t aimed directly at those forms of home ownership, ma…