Q:  Some years ago, I purchased a two-bedroom condo in downtown Chicago. It was advertised as having two parking spaces. They are piggy-back spaces, as the first car cannot get out until the second car is moved into the spot. From what I u…

Let’s imagine that your boss invites you to a group dinner to celebrate her recent promotion. At dinner, you have a tasty salad and one glass of the house red, but your colleagues all have multiple cocktails; somebody orders the surf-and-tu…

Whether you serve on the board of a co-op, condo or HOA, chances are you and your fellow community administrators are volunteers. Perhaps you're fortunate enough that you or one of your colleagues has professional legal expertise to bring t…

The legislative season is upon us, and in many states, bills specifically dealing with co-ops, condos and HOAs are wending their way through the legislative process. Even when bills aren't aimed directly at those forms of home ownership, ma…

If you’ve never seen an Alfred Hitchcock film and are looking for an entry point, considering adding The Birds to your Netflix queue. As an added bonus, you’ll not only be watching one of Hitch’s classics, you’ll also gain a true appreciati…

Q. Who’s responsible for water leak damage? I am a condo owner in good standing and a former board member in my association. Several months ago my hardwood floors were damaged by a leaking radiator. In our bylaws, it explicitly states tha…

Q. With all of today’s technology available, and with video/audio conferencing by Skype or other means more popular today, I'm thinking that more associations would like to hold their meetings via the Internet or telephone conferencing. I…

Living in a building or association means living in a community where residents get to know each other, attend events together and, sometimes even become close friends. In most cases, the people you meet are regular, down-to-earth folks, bu…

Despite the significant number of small condo and association communities that exist in Illinois, and in the Chicago area in particular, residents of these buildings would not be blamed if they felt a bit neglected with all of the attention…

Like any company, a multifamily residential community generates a lot of paperwork in the course of doing business, from employment records to tenant records and more. It can be an enormous amount of stuff to manage, and knowing what to kee…