Whether you live in a suburb or in the heart of the city, life is expensive. Sometimes it can feel as though everybody from the barista at your favorite coffee shop to the kid who sacks your groceries is trying to nickel-and-dime you half …
When it comes to ensuring that important association documents are private and secure, board members and managers have to follow specific protocols. However, thanks to ignorance or negligence those guidelines aren’t always followed. And pr…
Someone once said, "People who say that small things don't bother them have never tried to sleep in a room with a mosquito." The truth is that there are little irritations—otherwise known as pet peeves—about a job, relationship, or o…
Serving on a condo board has its challenges—mostly of a relatively mundane, everyday sort, like how to pay for new carpet in the clubhouse, or what kind of flowers to put in the new beds out front. Occasionally however, a much more sens…
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…
With multifamily buildings, who is in charge of the property and how well those people are trained are critically important factors in the successful operation of the community. Board members are a part of this management class, which i…
Condominium and cooperative management companies are plentiful in Chicago. And since there are hundreds of management companies vying for your attention and your business across Chicagoland, it can be tough for them to set themselves a…
How can you tell whether the on-site property manager at a condominium or homeowners association community is doing a good job? And what is “a good job”? Whether a manager is well-liked and whether he or she manages well may not be the …
These days, there are few people who don’t have a business website, a Facebook account and even a Twitter handle. It’s the same for buildings. As the rise of online social media invades nearly every aspect of our daily life, co-o…
Convenience and saving money are just a couple reasons why an association would choose to self-manage a property. Though, outside managing firms and property managers are hired and employed for good reason. The job requires collecting …