Category: Association Operations

In Chicago, urban high-rises with sidewalk frontage and suburban HOAs containing walking paths, parking lots, and service roads are reliant on their paved surfaces for conducting their everyday business. Therefore, it's crucial that bu…

There was a time when most large residential developments relied on glaring floodlights to brighten parking lots, front porches and entryways. Today, there is more to exterior lighting than just chasing shadows away and discouraging cr…

When you consider all the different exterior components that a condo association has to deal with, decks are sort of like the Rodney Dangerfield of the list—they rarely get any respect. “Decks are definitely something that peop…

More often than not, when boards or associations broach the issue of their buildings “going green,” images of bamboo flooring, hemp drapes, or solar panels on the roof suddenly spring to mind. The impression seems to be that in a condo,…

 Sometimes in the heat of the moment, when disagreements are at their worst, the  possibility of solving a problem without going to court seems remote at best.  Arguments may have been brewing for days or weeks with each side becoming more…

 Too often a condominium community takes a hard look at its security only after  the damage is done.    “Our business is an event-driven business,” says Andres Vidales of ADT Security Services, based in the Miami/Fort  Lauderdale, F…

Meet the residents of the fictional Manor Woods condominium. Mrs. Jones loves her unit. She’s been living there for 30 years and while she’s still independent, she walks and talks a little slower than she used to. Next door, David was i…

 It’s often said that safety starts at home—and while many HOAs spend lots of money on sophisticated security and access  control systems to protect residents and property, others opt for lower-tech  solutions to neighborhood security and …

At 7 p.m. on a Friday evening, Keith J. Hales, president of Hales Property Management, Inc., happened to be checking his email. He found a message from a woman who lives in a four-story condominium building his company manages on Chica…

 For any homeowner or tenant, the worst feeling is vulnerability. Association  dues are paid, in part, to provide a sense of safety and security. High fences,  security guards and gates, along with cameras and key codes help to achieve a  …