Category: Association Operations

There are certain perils—fires, major weather events, and so forth—that announce themselves clearly; others are more subtle, if no less hazardous. Things like gas leaks, electrical shorts and surges, and water leaks may not be as dramatic a…

No one likes to feel left out or ignored. That is how co-op, condo or HOA residents may feel if they believe their board or managers are not responding to their requests or sharing enough information. What they may not realize however, is t…

Maybe your child got in trouble at school, the dog had an accident on the carpet or a disgruntled call was received from a difficult client; whatever the reason, there are times when the last thing a condo board member or resident wants to …

Whether you're an executive of a multinational corporation or a cashier at the local supermarket, you probably receive a performance evaluation that assesses how well you're doing your job. Many property management companies may also do reg…

We live in a world of add-ons. Ever since the term supersize was coined by the fast food industry back in 1994, the idea and its implications have spread to many aspects of the American lifestyle. We've become accustomed to ‘value added ele…

It may be a surprise to some that Chicago is a rather youthful city. Only about 10 percent of Chicagoans are over the age of 65, compared to 13 percent of the entire United States. Forty percent of the city's seniors have a disability, acco…

It's Chicago, baby. We're talking about the City of Wind. The beloved town by the lake. But what if one of the Second City's famous blustery gusts blows a piece of condominium facade onto some innocent passer-by? This is perhaps the worst-c…

The most important aspect of managing a building is keeping it, its residents, and their property safe. In days past, 'safety technology' consisted mostly of well-lit exits, the installation of panic bars and glow-in-the-dark stripping on e…

The contractors who helped dig out the region’s condo properties last winter agree on one thing: the associations that were ‘rescued’ first were the ones with solid vendor relationships.  “You should probably start looking for a contractor…

Regardless of whether you're talking about a reputation, a design, or a lobby, the word clean implies an absence of dirt, germs, and unattractive clutter. If your home happens to be a condominium, a co-op, or other multi-unit building with …