A few years ago, I was on the phone with a homeowner. He was irate with how his community’s money was being spent. He was unhappy with the budget increase. It was a call I took regularly from any one of my homeowners (and more often than no…
Planning for a rainy day is pretty easy. Have an extra umbrella handy or a waterproof coat, and you’re probably fine. Planning for the rainiest day ever, on the other hand, is significantly more daunting. Especially if during that day there…
Multifamily residential buildings provide both privacy and community. Privacy, because a recluse in New York City can have almost anything delivered to his door and thus never have to leave the sanctuary of his apartment; and community, bec…
As cases of the new coronavirus increase here in the US, the crisis has led to a number of questions from condominium boards to the effect of: What should we do to protect the condominium and its members? What is our responsibility for the…
While keeping the records of the association is not the most fascinating part of board membership, it is in some ways one of the most important. In fact, the flow of paperwork is the lifeblood of the community. The association’s decl…
It only takes a few minutes of a web search to uncover the traits that make a successful person or business owner. For example, Entrepreneurmagazine’s Steven Key wrote the article, “5 Qualities of Successful Persons,” which included such t…
The goal of any property developer is to sell units, but until that objective is reached, the developer assumes all the day-to-day responsibilities to ensure smooth operations and continued sales. This requires wearing many hats—manager, b…
The word community, like many words in the English language, has more than one interpretation. A community can be identified as a geographical location—a physical infrastructure of streets, parks and buildings, defined by tangible brick an…
As housing markets in many parts of the country—including South Florida—have foundered, many developers have opted to convert portions of communities originally intended to be condominiums into rental properties. When a develop…
Working in groups can be a challenge. Working in groups when people’s homes—and possibly their life savings—are involved can be a far greater challenge. It’s one faced every day by those brave souls who volunteer to serve on their co-op …