Walls are the only separation between you and your neighbors when you live in a densely-populated area, and privacy sometimes goes out the window. People hear their next-door neighbors talking, footsteps from above or even music blaring…
While the vast majority of one-time projects and long-term service contracts involving vendors and service providers and their condominium or HOA clients go smoothly and either conclude or continue without incident, a small percentage …
When Superstorm Sandy hit the New England states last fall, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was quick to offer federal disaster assistance to the states affected to supplement the lo…
The great majority of co-op and condo residents pay their monthly maintenance fees on time and in full with no problem. People do fall behind on payments sometimes, of course — a temporary cash flow issue or other short-term financial h…
Budgets and financial reports provide a crystal-clear picture of how the association is doing. From an investment perspective, they show how unit owners, managers, tenants, building owners, board of trustees, etc., whether the property…
Looking at the balance in an association’s reserve account, a homeowner could easily feel complacent. After all, a quarter-million dollars is a lot of money. Maybe—or maybe not. If the condominium comprises 200 units, is nearin…
Just as families are encouraged to set aside a portion of the household budget into a savings account, so are community associations advised to maintain a reserve fund for capital improvements—repairs and replacements of major common-ow…
The Roman god Janus had two faces that allowed him to look backward into the past and forward into the future. When thinking about end-of-the-year association finances, boards would do well to take a lesson from Janus and look back at …
Q: If there is damage to my roof and it leaks into my condominium unit and I reported it to the board three times with no repairs made, can I repair it myself and deduct the cost from my common charges? Please advise ASAP. Your atte…