Four million people visit Portland, Maine each year. But don’t picture lobster bibs and sunburned summer tourists. The largest city in Maine is not known for its fish shacks, candy stores or beaches. The center of both commerce and cult…
Few things can be as upsetting as discovering that the dollars and cents that fuel a community association have been mishandled or worse yet, stolen. For residents, fraud undermines their sense of trust in the men and women who…
On July 1, 2010, a variety of sweeping changes to Connecticut’s Common Interest Ownership Act will take effect, and associations throughout the state will need to change the way they approach building management. “It’s the biggest change…
To disclose or not to disclose? That is the question community association boards wrestle with on a regular basis. If homeowners want to see the association’s financial records, should the books be open to them? What about a list of owne…
For board members, the time spent serving their association and fellow residents can be among the most strenuous yet rewarding periods in their lives. For years, they make decisions that affect their community in the present and may co…
For most people, “foaming at the mouth” is just an expression. Attorney Ellen Hirsch de Haan has encountered the real thing – and not at an animal shelter, but at a condominium owners’ meeting. A former president who recently h…
Q We are in a small condo building of 3 units, hence do not have (quite frankly, can't afford) a management company, with the intention that the 3 owners/ trustees share in the building upkeep and responsibilities. One owner has since …
A poster representing New England could well feature Concord, New Hampshire as its pictorial theme. Rich in history and culture, Concord is a small city of approximately 42,000 people surrounded by the rugged beauty of unspoiled New En…
A funny thing happened when the auto industry embracedthe digital age a few years ago, and installed electronic displays in luxury cars so that drivers were confronted with the engine’s fuel consumption in miles per gallon—in immediate nu…
In this period of rising energy costs—not to mention the environmental threat of carbon emissions—community associations have a golden opportunity to realize substantial energy savings for their residents. Since the association…