Congratulations! You’ve just been elected to the board of directors, and given your first monthly financial packet. Like many new board members, your first thought may be, “This is so confusing. Glad I’m not the treasurer - I don’t have to …
Q. I have written several complaint letters to the board and the managing agent regarding a noisy neighbor. They did send a letter to the shareholders about a year ago, but the problem persists, and although I continue to write letters, n…
Q. My HOA found garbage dumped on the front of our street—and since they didn’t know who did it, decided to fine everyone on the street. Problem is that during that time period, the HOA had numerous unsupervised contractors working with d…
Part of the appeal of HOA or condo living is living in an orderly, well-kept community where neighbors have agreed to uphold certain standards for their properties, the better to preserve value for all. For many, those standards include the…
Emergencies in multifamily communities can take on many forms. High-rises and sprawling developments alike can be impacted by big crises, such as fires or hurricanes, as well as smaller challenges, such as a broken pipe or a fallen tree lim…
Among the many benefits of living in a multifamily building or HOA is a built-in community of residents who can get to know each other if they want to and ultimately enjoy spending time together. Some communities encourage their residents t…
As Carrie Fisher’s character says in When Harry Met Sally, “Everyone thinks they have great taste and a good sense of humor,” but that’s obviously not true—and some of the decorative ideas in multifamily buildings challenge this belief. I…
When buying into a co-op, condo, or HOA, you’re not merely buying a home—you’re buying into a community. These communities are governed by policies and procedures that typically include prospective member requisites, as well as the methods …
When seeking a place to call home, potential co-op and condo buyers are seeking a place of peace and quiet. No one wants to live in the midst of a tempest. And peace and quiet can be both literal and figurative, of course. The constant din …
Striking a healthy balance between the governance and the management of a co-op or condo community can be a challenge. While it’s the board that governs, it’s management that executes…at least that’s how it’s supposed to be in theory. That …