When summer rolls around many Chicagoans can be found at any one of the 33 beaches along the shores of freshwater Lake Michigan. There may not be any waves but the vast blue waters can rival any Florida or California beach. Illinois’s n…
The Chicagoland Cooperator's Condo, HOA & Co-op Expo second expo last fall was by all accounts a huge success as the event attracted thousands of attendees from all across the region for a full day of education and networking. …
If you want to find out about the history of a town, region or country, head to a museum or look it up on the Internet. If you want to find out about your family’s history, look at your photo album, whether it’s in a book or online. And…
The foundation of any properly run condo association or co-op building rests on residents paying their monthly maintenance fees on time and in full, with no delays or delinquencies. However, thanks to the lingering effects of the reces…
The vast majority of both one-time projects and long-term service contracts involving vendors and service providers and their condominium or HOA clients go smoothly and either conclude or continue without incident. However, a small per…
Q I am the president of a 60-unit condo association. One of our original owners, severely handicapped, lost his unit to bank foreclosure in December 2012. He was supposed to have moved out by January 3, 2013 but he is still here. We have…
Q I live in a three-story building with 108 units, 36 per level. Our self-managed board is going to pay (out of our common elements maintenance fund) for the washing of bedroom and end unit windows, as they are difficult to reach. …
Walls are often the only separation between you and your neighbors when you live in a densely populated area like Chicago, and privacy sometimes seems to go out the window. People hear their next-door neighbors talking, footsteps from …
While some condos and HOAs are lucky enough to have lawyers serve as members of their board, the majority of boards don’t have an in-house legal expert. They often reach out to their attorney to answer questions, vet documents, send the…
Lawsuits are usually not an association’s go-to method for dispute resolution. Expensive and time-consuming, they can quickly turn into a financial burden and may create strained relations in the community. Unfortunately, in some cases …