Q. I live in a five-story condominium with 24 units, 24 “designated” parking spots, and six undesignated spots. “Designated” means that only the 24 people with parking tags can park in any one of those 24 designated spots (but the spots a…
Q. If someone wants to get a board member off the board, how do they go about it, and what percentage of the shareholders do they need? —What’s the Procedure? A. “The question is a good question, and the a…
Supers, building managers, maintenance persons, custodial staff, groundskeeping personnel, porters, doormen, concierges—depending on the size of a community, the staff roster for a condo, co-op, or HOA can be pretty long. The truth is, in t…
Most people go about their days paying little attention to the labor performed by those who make their lives easier. From transit workers to service employees to government officials, how often does one stop to thank the people making every…
Community living – the very basis of co-op, condo and HOA life –is based on the idea of trust. In a community of potentially hundreds or thousands of residents, every resident can’t be involved in the making of every decision. Too many cook…
A condominium, cooperative, or homeowners’ association elects a board for a specific purpose: to navigate the ins and outs of association management on a day-to-day basis. In fact, the board has an inflexible fiduciary duty to act in the be…
Q. I am a condo board member and often hear my fellow members say at our meetings that "What goes on in here stays in here.” How can that be fair to our unit owners? Shouldn't everything go in the minutes except for names and amounts owed…
Many residential properties obtain their power from a local energy supplier. But in recent years, boards and managing agents have investigated, and in some cases, installed “cogeneration” systems that allow properties to produce a portion o…
In multifamily buildings that hundreds – maybe even thousands – of people call home, it comes as no surprise that unpleasant smells can become an absolute nuisance. The airways that run through the building, the chutes and areas that house …
Most folks know that turning off lights in unoccupied rooms, taking shorter showers, and turning down the thermostat a couple of degrees can help save energy – and by extension, money. However, helping an entire building or association cut …