One of the most rewarding aspects of living in an urban area is the opportunity  for people from a broad array of ethnic and sociological backgrounds to get to  know each other as neighbors. That doesn't mean that managing a building or  …

 In your own household, you have money coming in and money going out. You have  things you want to save up for—say, a new cool high-def, flat screen television or the latest iPad. Yet you owe  your car company and your creditors. To keep i…

 It’s time for the big election. And no, we’re not talking about Washington. We’re talking about the one that takes place annually in every co-op, condo  building and homeowners association. It’s the election where unit owners have to appo…

 Whether they serve a co-op, condo, or HOA community, board members have a  responsibility to govern and make decisions on behalf of that community—a charge that is often referred to as the board's 'fiduciary duty.' Decisions  made on beha…

 Many condo owners want to get involved in their community but they soon find out  that being on the board is no picnic. Soon neighbors are pestering them asking  for feuds to be settled, decisions that affect all resident’s lives have to …

 Wires and drywall were all that remained in a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath  Wrigleyville condominium unit that its owner abandoned in 2009. The owner wasn’t paying on his mortgage or his monthly condo association assessments, prompt…

 It's almost a mantra: the more you know, the better off you are—certainly when it comes to doing the job of a condominium or HOA board member.  No matter how enthused and engaged a new board appointee may be, they don't  come to the job k…

 Mark your calendars! The date for The Chicagoland Cooperator’s second annual Chicagoland Condo, HOA, & Co-op Expo, is fast approaching. This year’s event will be held from on Wednesday, November 14th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00  p.m. at the N…

Q I am on the board in a condo community. We currently have a renter that was sneaked in by the owner. What is the proper way of addressing this? What is the proper way to remove the renter and can there be fines made to the owner? …

Q We have a few units going into short sale and one of the unit owners mentioned she was interested in buying two of them. However, I was also told by one of the unit owners that a real estate agent was telling some of the owners that …