Management companies that work with community associations typically begin their working relationship by negotiating a contract. The parties involved do their best to carefully craft an agreement and the terms of service that will cover ev…

From time to time, a co-op, condo or HOA community may have to hire a new management company. It may be that the current firm just isn’t working out or the community may have decided to transition from self-management to an outside firm. B…

Q What do you do to owners who are in arrears? This question highlights many of the issues facing associations when a delinquency continues for significant period of time. It is a particularly frustrating experience to have an owner in re…

Providing safety and security is important, but condominium security providers consider each location a unique challenge. Without caution, an attempt to provide security can backfire, producing anger and anxiety instead. Responsive managem…

One only needs to watch the news regularly to understand the devastation that a fire can have on a home or community whatever the time of year. The Lowell, Massachusetts, apartment fire last summer that killed four adults and three childre…

It’s often said that safety starts at home—and while many HOAs spend lots of money on sophisticated security and access control systems to protect residents and property, others opt for lower-tech solutions to neighborhood security and cri…

While the Boston Marathon bombing of April 2013 stands as the biggest catastrophe to befall the New England area in recent years, residents must be on guard for many potential disasters, be they fires, nor'easters, floods or building colla…

Q The homeowners of my condo are very unhappy with the current board, and have therefore petitioned for a special meeting for the sole purpose to vote them off as Board of Trustees. A special meeting was granted and the board mailed out a…

Protection against embezzlement, fraud, theft, computer crime, forgery and more are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to crimes at community associations across the United States. During challenging economic times, crime goes up an…

A manager might have to coordinate operations with a single maintenance person or work with any number of doormen, porters, custodians and handypersons depending on the size and nature of the building. When well-trained and motivated, thes…