The proximity to neighbors that comes with living in a high-rise or townhome HOA can sometimes amplify situations that might seem less urgent in more spread-out communities. Along with things like noise and odors, residents’ behavior can al…

Q. I’m going overseas for a few months for work, and would like to rent out my condo while I’m away. One of our board members told me I have to submit an information packet to the board including the names, yearly incomes, and a bunch of …

For shared-interest communities, guarding the safety and security of residents is of paramount importance. Achieving those goals is more than a matter of key fobs and cameras, however. It applies to all kinds of hazards within communities’ …

From the outside, the structure of a condo, co-op or townhouse building may appear to be monolithic; just pieces of brick, steel, vinyl or wood, punctuated with some glass here and there. That’s an oversimplification, however. A multifamily…

Water is a necessity for living—but it’s also a potential hazard for all types of buildings, on both micro and macro levels. Whether it’s the result of extreme weather or an internal plumbing leak, water can cause serious damage to building…

Managing a residential building or association of any type is no small feat. Whether you're a trustee entrusted with fiduciary responsibility or a community manager tasked with keeping everything running smoothly, you’re doing it all: balan…

Q. It seems like electric vehicles are all over the roads these days and our board has been getting more requests to install electric vehicle chargers. Does the board have to allow unit owners to install chargers and if so, who pays? Also…

In a typical condo, co-op, or homeowners association, residents have a lot to say about how their building or community is or should be functioning … but few actually step up to run for and serve on the board that does the actual governing.…

Humans have been grouping ourselves into communities for almost as long as we’ve been walking upright, from loosely organized kinship groups to planned subdivisions containing hundreds, even thousands of families. Condominium and homeowners…

Ideally, the board members of condominiums, co-ops, and HOAs are conscientious, level-headed folks committed to doing the job they were elected to do, treating everyone fairly and equitably, and not using their position to push a personal a…