Condo, co-op and HOA communities are made up of people – and people aren’t perfect. Within a community association, squabbles are inevitably going to break out between unit owners. Oftentimes these problems will be resolved relatively easil…
The invention and adaptation of vertical transportation – otherwise known as the elevator – in the 1850s changed the face of architecture, space design, and apartment living forever. Unfortunately, like any mechanical system, every so often…
A condo is only as strong as its metaphorical foundation – the people who live there, in other words – and their dedication to building a vibrant, functional community. But the literal, physical components that comprise the structure are v…
Whether you live in a high-rise building or a spread-out condo association, you probably take having reliable, adequate heat in the winter months for granted. But heating a multifamily community is not so easy as simply turning a dial. Ther…
Real estate lore has its share of stories about merciless, if not downright unscrupulous, city inspectors popping in on unaware building owners, conducting unscheduled examinations of all types, and sometimes even demanding payoffs in excha…
Q. I am a condo unit owner with a patch of HOA-owned grass near my unit that was overlooked for many years. Over the past six years, I have slowly landscaped the area in accordance with the landscaping of the complex. No one from the boar…
Q. We have a board member who has been locked out of meetings. According to that board member, the board has formed an Executive Committee that has, for all intents and purposes, shut them out. The board member no longer able to view boar…
A condominium, cooperative or homeowners’ association is only as efficient as the elected board that oversees its day-to-day operations. Considering how difficult it can be to find time for family, leisure, and sleep amid work and assorted …
Attorneys and community association managers can be a godsend for the board of a co-op, condominium or HOA. Most boards consist of volunteers who usually have quite busy external lives themselves, so having an experienced professional on th…
If you live in a condominium, cooperative or HOA, you’re effectively acting as part of a participatory democracy run by an elected group of volunteers. And as with any democracy, those affected by the board’s decisions are encouraged to get…