Remember the old Timex watch jingle, ‘it takes a licking and keeps on ticking’? The gist of the ad is that no matter what you threw at it, a Timex watch kept working. If you think about it, a building’s exterior is almost like a Time…
Who is legally responsible for 1) coordinating treating and 2) paying for treating bedbugs in a condominium unit? If one of the condo units is rented out to a tenant by the unit owner, does that change things? Once it spreads, does tha…
There are many different factors that prospective condominium owners contemplate when looking to buy a unit. Aesthetics, price, and location are important, for sure. But perhaps the most critical factors of all are the safety of the buildi…
While crime rates are steadily decreasing nationwide, multi-unit dwellings are often more difficult to “police” due to the sheer numbers of residents, visitors, delivery personnel and third party workers such as contractors constantly comi…
There are lots of ways for home-buyers to find properties for sale, but regardless of whether one finds their prospective dream house online, sees a “For Sale” sign in a building, or gets a hot tip word-of-mouth, at some point buyer and pr…
Being on a board of a condo or co-op is no picnic. There are tons of decisions to be made, disputes to settle, finances to keep track of and a chance of being sued for a slip-up. So why do so many people decide to serve on a board—some for…
The annual election is probably the biggest event in the administrative life of the condominium, homeowners or cooperative community. For board members and residents alike, it's their most important performance. The board members ele…
Money for Nothing? Q There have been two charges that "just appeared" on my maintenance statement—small amounts of money...BUT without prior notice and they were just tacked on. One was for a parking increase and one was for "mailin…
Nothing lasts forever, and though you can’t predict the moment a piece of building equipment will break down, you can prepare for it. Even the toughest boiler, HVAC unit, or elevator will eventually tucker out and need major repairs, or ju…
As readers of this publication surely know, well-run condo buildings and HOAs need to have adequate amounts of money in both their operating funds and their reserve funds. The operating fund covers most of the day-to-day costs of run…