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 …

 In the ongoing effort to limit the non-smoking public's exposure to second-hand  cigarette smoke, municipal governments across the country are coming up with  increasingly strict bans on smoking in public places—even on public streets and…

 You may be sitting at home on the couch scrolling through the TV listings—but rest assured that at that very moment, issues concerning your home are being  discussed in the legislative arena.    At any time, hundreds of thousands o…

Q With video/audio conferencing available, I'm wondering if association meetings  can be held via telephone conferencing. I'm wondering if there are any  parameters for this, or if there are any legal restrictions. Where can I find  the g…

Q If we purchase a unit (currently we are renting) for use by our building  engineer, are we no longer subject to paying property tax on that unit? We are  getting conflicting advice.    —Tax Exempt in Illinois   A “If a co…

 For seven years, Mira Calton and her husband, Dr. Jayson Calton, owned a  floating home, one of the 165 privately-owned residences on The World, a  644-foot yacht that continuously circumnavigates the globe. Owning a home on  the yacht, w…