As Hurricane Wilma churned across southeast Florida on October 24, 2005, four maverick residents of a coastal Pompano Beach condominium under a mandatory evacuation order opted to stay. They brought along some booze, broke into the off…
Despite what film noir and gritty nocturnal crime dramas would have us believe, sunny venues and beach vistas are as fertile grounds for criminal activity as dark alleys and deserted piers—especially those typically referred to as “whit…
Property managers handle a wide array of tasks from the physical to the administrative. While many of these jobs are outlined in black and white (send out monthly bills, attend meetings, file paperwork), one important component is not …
There’s nothing quite like making a first impression. For those living in condominiums or homeowner associations in South Florida, a great deal of creating this important impression is often out of a resident’s hands, so it’s necessary …
One of my young daughter’s favorite YouTube clips involves an elaborately decorated house, whose thousands of colored Christmas lights were programmed to flicker, strobe, wave, and blink to the tune of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s har…
Are your community’s swimming pool and hot tub VGB-compliant? Do you know what that means? VGB stands for Virginia Graeme Baker, a seven-year-old girl who drowned in June of 2002 when she became stuck after being sucked into a …
No matter whether you're traveling light or burdened with an armload of groceries, nobody likes to climb stairs. Recognizing this, mid- and high-rise condo developments frequently count elevators among their amenities of convenience—an…
The old axiom about things that are out-of-sight also being out-of-mind often goes double when it comes to the inner workings of a building’s operating system. The maze of wires, pipes, and ducts is a mystery to the untrained person or …
In Florida, humans share space with all manner of reptiles; most noteworthy are alligators and several species of exotic snakes. Humans and reptiles thrive in Florida’s semi-tropical climate, and learning how to co-exist safely, is a hu…
Q When a management agent of a condominium receives a complaint from a homeowner about another homeowner, is management allowed to tell the homeowner the name of the complaint? Is this ethical and is there a real estate rule about how …