Amenities can be a major selling point for any co-op or condo. You don't have to be Jillian Michaels these days to have a spa or full gym at home. Naturally, they add to the property value of the building as a whole, as well as to the indiv…

In August 2003, much of the American Northeast was plunged into darkness when the power grid serving the region failed. Through power was restored within a day or so—to much of the affected area—millions of dollars in losses and damages wer…

Finding a good neighbor—it’s what we all hope for when we move into a new building or community. The same is true for commercial properties in residential buildings.  Making a good match, one that benefits both the commercial tenants and un…

Workers' compensation as we know it today—the insurance system that provides medical care and other benefits for workers who become sick or injured in the course of doing their jobs--grew out of the European labor movement in the late 19th …

There is always work to be done on a building, whether it’s a simple lobby repair or a major capital improvement, but finding the right contractor for the job takes some work. If the vetting process is not done properly, the results could b…

Exteriors of buildings—condos and HOAs included—aren’t always just smooth brick walls. There are all sorts of indentations and protrusions, from terraces to stonework to cornices. There are also items that are not part of the building, but …

It's easy to take  major building features for granted. Consider elevators, for example. A well-maintained elevator can function smoothly for decades, ferrying residents up and down without incident or complaint. Nevertheless, no matter the…

If you think about it, a multifamily building isn’t that much different than the human body—both house important complex operating systems and organ-like pieces of vital equipment, both take in fuel and produce waste, and both require regul…

Q  My question relates to the maintenance responsibilities of a unit owner versus the board’s responsibilities. Recently I had an animal crawl into my air conditioner and die. Gross as that sounds, I know, it now smells, and there are magg…

Q  This seems to be a perennial problem for anyone living in a multifamily community. Our upstairs neighbors always have loud noises coming from their unit—sometimes it emanates from the television or it could be coming from music and vide…