The shingles on the roof look worn. Paint is peeling off the clapboards on a few buildings. Potholes have turned the parking lot into a slalom course. But collections are down, several homes are in foreclosure, and the temptation to le…
As spring dawns anew on the frigid New England landscape, many condo dwellers will get their first prolonged looks at Mother Nature’s wintery ravages. Likely nowhere is this better seen than on a property’s exterior siding, much of which…
They say a house is only as strong as its foundation. A bad roof, or shoddy plumbing can set your building back a lot of money. But, a foundation in disrepair can put the entire building's structure at risk. It can also cost tens of th…
Condo owners don’t generally exude enthusiasm over their roofs. In fact, they don’t pay much attention to them until there is a problem. However, a roofing problem can cause a major expense. Roofs in New England condominiums br…
Freezing, thawing and deicing undoubtedly take their toll on concrete during typically harsh New England winters. Corrosion of concrete is an issue in the Northeast, and homeowner associations need to ensure that the concrete forming t…
As the ubiquity of the condo “green” movement reaches even greater heights, many property managers find themselves searching for new ways to spruce up their operations. And with the continual advances in lighting technology—each more re…
When you consider all the different exterior components that a condo association has to deal with, decks are sort of like the Rodney Dangerfield of the list—they rarely get any respect. “Decks are definitely something that peop…
More often than not, when boards or associations broach the issue of their buildings “going green,” images of bamboo flooring, hemp drapes, or solar panels on the roof suddenly spring to mind. The impression seems to be that in a condo,…
One of New England’s more unique resort communities, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, beckons like an oasis from the heart of the White Mountain National Forest. Two hours from Boston and served by one main road – Route 49 –the village…
A proposal to ban federal lenders from purchasing mortgages in condos with deed-based transfer fees has been drastically scaled back following intense lobbying against the rule by community associations around the country. The p…