Just think about this—you go to a doctor’s office for the first time and, hanging on the wall is an empty frame where his medical degree should be. You question him about it and he tells you, sure, he graduated from med school. He's tot…

In Chicago, urban high-rises with sidewalk frontage and suburban HOAs containing walking paths, parking lots, and service roads are reliant on their paved surfaces for conducting their everyday business. Therefore, it's crucial that bu…

There was a time when most large residential developments relied on glaring floodlights to brighten parking lots, front porches and entryways. Today, there is more to exterior lighting than just chasing shadows away and discouraging cr…

When you consider all the different exterior components that a condo association has to deal with, decks are sort of like the Rodney Dangerfield of the list—they rarely get any respect. “Decks are definitely something that peop…

More often than not, when boards or associations broach the issue of their buildings “going green,” images of bamboo flooring, hemp drapes, or solar panels on the roof suddenly spring to mind. The impression seems to be that in a condo,…

Q A friend of mine is the president of a condo in Wicker Park. She had been working for the superintendent as a secretary when the super started his own business, which is on the condo premises. Although it's just office work, my frien…

Q I've had an existing leak in my full bathroom since the unit owners above me have moved in. It so happens that their son runs a bath for as long as two hours at a time, blasting the water full force. Over time this has caused damage …

Unless you live in the perfectly utopian condo or co-op (in which case please disclose where), conflict is virtually inevitable. Whether is it a noise complaint or larger issue of governance, disputes between neighbors and board member…

Located right off of Lake Michigan and minutes from the Chicago, the northern suburb of Evanston is home to more than 74,000 residents. This diverse population contributes to the city's unique and extensive cultural scene while at the …

 According to the most recent U.S. Census, an estimated 285,000—or roughly 10 percent—of Chicagoland's population is over the age of 65. Older Chicagoans live in all  parts of the city, both integrated into their longtime neighborhoods and…