First dubbed “Eden” by settlers at the end of the eighteenth century, Bar Harbor, Maine has always sounded like the quintessential place to vacation. Even the original inhabitants, the Wabanaki Indians, called the area Ah-bays'auk or the…
Even while faced with massive deficits, the governors of each of the New England states have pledged not to raise taxes in their proposed fiscal year 2011 budgets. While this is good news for taxpayers in the short run, no new taxes in…
While it’s generally understood how to employ the first two people – to call the accountant when bills are due and at tax time and the property manager pretty much all the time – rules for engaging the condo’s lawyer remain somewhat vagu…
With New England condominiums still grappling with the recent economic downturn, it’s no accident that most new state condo legislation deals with money matters. From a proposed superlien law in New Hampshire that would put condos first…
The late 1990s saw a surge of nationwide smoking restrictions put into effect. State by state, smoking ban legislation was proposed, put to a vote and passed into law. No public dwelling seemed untouched, including the workplace, shops,…
They came to learn, to network, and to discover new solutions for managing their community associations. And they went home with stacks of information and minds brimming with ideas. Over a thousand board members, homeowners an…
Although there seems to be no shortage of talking heads touting the beginning of the end of the economic decline, associations (like the average consumer) are still struggling to do more with less. It just so happens that servi…
Q Recently I left my job and have decided to start my own business. Am I permitted to operate a business out of my condominium unit? –Enterprising Entrepreneur A “Like many questions involving condominiums, the answer…
Who Passes the Annual Budget? Q Does our condominium board of directors need to have our next annual budget passed by the condominium owners or can they pass it themselves? –Following Protocol A “In most s…
Fresh from hoisting up the banking and automobile sectors, a newly muscular Uncle Sam is now turning his attention to putting the skids on the real estate meltdown. The Obama Administration earlier this year rolled out two major housin…