Social distancing, lockdowns, quarantine, remote work, distance learning—these once unfamiliar terms have changed the way we live our everyday lives in the time of a global pandemic. In a society where a handshake is the social gesture that…
It’s a common bit for comedians and TV sitcoms: making fun of the ‘condo police’—those neighbors who take it upon themselves to enforce the rules set up by your condominium association or co-op corporation to regulate community living. They…
It’s a question we’re asked all the time: “Can we use reserves to cover an operating fund shortfall?” Under normal circumstances, our standard response would be an emphatic “No!”—because reserves are for major repair and replacement project…
COVID-19 has caused more far-ranging, persistent anxiety than any other event in recent history. It has affected our jobs, our living situations, and the way we interact with others, and it’s not done with us yet. Scientists and public heal…
While pockets of disagreement still linger in some quarters, climate change—and the science explaining it—is very real. And while fluctuations in seasonal weather are normal, the general trend toward a hotter planet is clear, evidenced by m…
Whether you reside in, manage, or serve on the board of a condo, co-op, or HOA, examining your building’s energy efficiency from top to bottom, inside and out, will have enormous implications for individual and communal costs, energy conser…
Every municipality has its own schedule and criteria for exterior building inspections and upkeep - but in between official visits, boards, managers, and association staff can and should keep an eye out for some of the telltale signs of str…
By its very definition, insurance coverage is planned protection against both the expected and the unexpected. Life insurance clearly provides financial security in the event of death, which of course is an eventual certainty. But at the sa…
Even before the COVID-19 crisis hit, the question of where real estate values were going was the elephant lurking in the corner of the room. Some submarkets (like Boston, for example) were strong—and getting stronger. Others (like New York …
Each year, boards are tasked with figuring out the costs associated with all aspects of their community’s operations, including any capital repairs or improvements they plan to undertake in the coming fiscal year, and then making sure the r…