In the language of retail, it’s called shrinkage—the percentage of loss experienced by a business due to theft. Co-ops and condos may not use the same term for it, and they don't have displays of handbags or jewelry to safeguard, but th…
The dreaded phrase “maintenance increase” are two words that most condo and co-op owners don't want to hear, but sometimes it is necessary for a building’s board to make the unpopular decision of raising fees. With rising operating costs…
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of the recent recession was the sudden evaporation of credit from major banks and lending institutions. The logic behind it was understandable: too much easy credit had led, in part, to the col…
As gasoline prices rise with increasing summer demand, building administrators' attention has turned sharply to the cost of energy, and ways to trim fat from their overall energy budgets. Yet for the nation’s nearly 60 million…
Choosing the right property management company is a tedious but important task for any Board of Directors. The use of a Request For Proposal (RFP) process by a cooperative board will greatly enhance the selection of the most a…
There's no denying it: the housing bubble has definitely burst. And while there is still some speculation on how, when and why, most financial experts agree that the correction and balancing process has begun—though it will likely be lo…
Chicago has a long tradition of being culturally diverse, and that tradition continues to evolve today. The Metro Chicago Immigration Fact Book reports that the Chicagoland area added 1.4 million immigrants in the past decade,…
Years ago, when apartment residents wanted to do laundry, they gathered their basket and detergent, loaded up their pockets with quarters and perhaps a good book or their Walkman and trudged downstairs to the dark, dingy laundry room. A…
As the mass media reminds us almost daily, staying fit (or even just getting fit in the first place) is on many people's minds. The risks of a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle are being taken more seriously, and that seriousness is be…
It’s a different world for amenities, these days. Just a decade ago, if you were fortunate enough to live in a building with a gated entrance or a nicely-landscaped swimming pool, you thought you hit the jackpot. It was easy for the bu…