Your home defines you. It’s where you spend most of your time. It’s where you hang your hat. It’s where you make precious memories with friends and family. And what your home looks like – whether it’s made of glass and steel or terracotta a…

Most kids these days have never had more options when it comes to fun: video games and electronic entertainment of every kind are ubiquitous, and all sorts of mobile toys, too. But amid a national childhood obesity epidemic, the need for ch…

Q. We reside in a medium-sized condominium complex in the Chicago suburbs, consisting of five separate condo associations and one homeowners’ association. After reading through several sections of the Illinois Condominium Property Act (IC…

For many people, one of the most attractive aspects of co-op or condo living is the fact that everything, from the windows to the elevators to the numbers on the apartment doors, looks great; clean, bright, elegant and well-maintained. For …

In any large city, parking is a big deal—it’s often hard to find, and when you do find a spot, it can be very expensive. Parking spaces not only provide urban drivers with freedom and mobility in the crowded cityscape, but they can be a ser…

Trees may seem like the ultimate in low-maintenance landscaping; they’re naturally occurring, live for decades (sometimes centuries), don’t really require much in the way of watering, and sometimes don’t even need pruning. But while all tha…

Building maintenance follows a schedule based on the seasons, each of which presents a unique set of challenges to a co-op or condo. At certain times of the year, it just makes sense to do certain regular maintenance projects: weatherizing,…

Q. A unit owner is using really foul language at some other owners continually. He goes as far as telling them they should die and fall down the stairs. The association has been notified many times and says they can’t do anything. The rul…

Q. If a condo association in Chicago wanted to buy a unit, what percentage of ownership is required to have this purchase be approved?  I hear it is 75 percent, but another association said it was 67 percent. Also, if it changed from 67 p…

Q. I am a unit owner in a condominium association containing 189 units. We manage ourselves and wouldn’t ever want to have a management company manage our property. However, the question has often  been asked as to what happens when a man…