From the outside, the structure of a condo, co-op or townhouse building may appear to be monolithic; just pieces of brick, steel, vinyl or wood, punctuated with some glass here and there. That's an oversimplification, however. A multifamil…
The rarely stated—but all too well understood—Murphy’s Law for Boilers— asserts that if your boiler quits working, it will do so on Christmas or New Year’s Eve, or at 4:45 p.m. on the coldest day of the year. With some planning, though, th…
Though mostly unseen, a building’s plumbing and piping network is one of its most important systems—as anyone who has ever had to endure a freezing February shower, or who has come home to a flooded floor, can attest. Plumbing includes not…
A manager might have to coordinate operations with a single maintenance person or work with any number of doormen, porters, custodians and handypersons depending on the size and nature of the building. When well-trained and motivated, thes…
Protection against embezzlement, fraud, theft, computer crime, forgery and more are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to crimes at community associations across the United States. During challenging economic times, crime goes up an…
Q The homeowners of my condo are very unhappy with the current board, and have therefore petitioned for a special meeting for the sole purpose to vote them off as Board of Trustees. A special meeting was granted and the board mailed out a…