A recent Bankruptcy Court decision in New Jersey highlights two important issues for community associations: 1) Record your Governing Documents; 2) Timely file an objection to a Chapter 13 Plan if the Association is a creditor and objects to the treatment in the debtor’s Chapter 13 Plan. Read more………
2014 Legislative Roundup: What’s Happened, What’s Happening, What Might Happen
The 2014-15 legislative session in Trenton is underway, and as always, several housing-related bills are being debated or introduced. Some impact the state’s condos and HOAs as well as its relatively small number of co-ops. Read more……..
Vetting Contracts Before You Sign: What You’re Getting Into
Few things can raise one’s blood pressure like signing a big contract. That can be especially true for board members or managers signing sometimes mammoth contracts on behalf of a co-op or condo association, obligating their neighbors, friends and themselves to page after page of fine print. Read more……..
NJ trial court dismisses condo association’s defect claims
In late March, a trial court in Bergen County, New Jersey dismissed a condominium association’s construction defect claims against several construction entities for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitations. This decision’s appellate aftermath will be interesting to follow, because the trial court stripped away some of the protection that New Jersey’s discovery […]
How Much Notice Should A Community Association Provide Residents Before Entering A Home?
The New Jersey Condominium Act provides that a condominium association shall have access to each unit from time to time, during reasonable hours, as may be necessary for the maintenance, repair or replacement of any common elements therein, or accessible therefrom, for making emergency repairs necessary to prevent damage to common elements or to any […]
Not In My Front Yard! Resident‘s Rights and Rules
Whether you choose to live in a co-op, condo, or single-family home may impact your lifestyle even more than the style of the kitchen inside your place, or even how many bedrooms it contains. That’s because the type of home can signify the number of rules and rights that will dominate your life—even inside your […]
The Suburban Jungle: Landscaping in the Garden State
Many residents of New Jersey rightly believe that when it comes to climate, Jersey has it all. The compact, 8,800-square-mile state may only be 70 miles across at its widest point, but it is influenced by both wet and dry and hot and cold airstreams, producing a diverse pattern of climate variation from the mountains […]
No Stone Unturned: Hardscaping as a Functional Design Element
When most people think of landscaping, they think of shrubs, trees, meticulously laid-out and maintained flowerbeds, and artful plantings scattered around a building or development. Landscaping doesn’t end with growing things, however Read more………
Assess for Capital Improvements? Borrow? Do Both with “Split Funding”
A reader writers: Since becoming a condominium, our building has needed a seemingly endless series of repairs, most of which have been funded with special assessments. Now we desperately need a new roof and major work on our elevator. The board is divided between another assessment and a loan. I recently read an article about […]
Not in My Yard: When Tensions Flare Over Front Yard Issues
Condos and HOA communities can be a great setting to own a home, enjoy privacy and the comforts of your own personal space. But, there will always be tension between the desire to make your unit your own, and adhering to the rules of the community for the greater good, which is usually peaceful coexistence […]
Disaster Planning: New Law (NJ) Mandates Over 55 Communities to Maintain Emergency Building Operations Plans
On January 13, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law P.L. 2013, Ch. 186 (A-3625/S-2343), which requires age-restricted multiple dwelling owners – including certain condominiums and homeowners associations – to annually prepare and maintain emergency building operations plans. Read more………
Worst-Case Scenarios: When the Reserves Won’t Cover It
New Jersey has had its share of hurricanes and weather disasters over the years, and while sometimes there’s ample warning before something calamitous happens, that’s not always the case. A bad situation can be made immeasurably worse when a building or association isn’t economically solvent enough to weather an emergency, or when insurance coverage doesn’t […]
Board/Owner Do’s & Don’ts: What Makes a Board Successful
It only takes a few minutes of Googling to uncover the traits that make a successful person or business owner. For example, Entrepreneur magazine’s Steven Key wrote the article, “5 Qualities of Successful Persons,” which included such traits as open-mindedness, unwavering passion, and a forward-looking approach. Read more…….
Howdy, Neighbor: Cultivating a Sense of Community
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 and mortar structures. But a sense of community is often emotional, intangible and much more difficult to define; it is […]
Keeping Track of Paperwork: Properly Managing HOA Records
While keeping the records of the association is not the most fascinating part of serving on a board, it is in some ways the most important. In fact, the flow of paperwork is the lifeblood of the community.
Co-op and Condo Boards Have Different Responsibilities Regarding Bedbugs
Getting bitten? Don’t be shy. It’s time to talk once again about bedbugs (also spelled “bed bugs”), those bloodsuckers from Hell that are present in many homeowners’ nightmares. Although complaints about the pests have diminished, New York City co-op and condo dwellers, among others, still deal with outbreaks. Eradication can be a huge expense, and […]
Secrets of Successful Managers: Communication, Accommodation, Cooperation
As jugglers of multiple and oftentimes complex tasks, property managers must be adept at mediating between board members and unit owners, as well as resolving all manner of maintenance and legal issues. To this end, property managers don’t have ‘typical’ days, but rather varied and challenging ones that are often complicated, and require a particular […]
Changing Managers or Firms? Don’t Overlook the Details!
Whether change is good or bad often depends on who you talk to; even a welcome change produces a certain level of stress and adjustment. Personal changes are challenging enough, but for co-op and condo residents, a board decision to change property managers or firms will quite literally hit home. Read more………
Managing Amenities: Who’s in Charge of What?
Whether a building is a luxury high rise with an in-house movie theater, rooftop pool, and climate-controlled wine cellar or a much more modest low-rise or townhome community with a simple community room or gazebo, managing common amenities is just another function of condo/HOA administration. Read more……..
Knowing When to Call Your Manager
In another life, Olivia Pope would be a terrific property manager—the best property manager who ever existed. After all, if she can rig presidential elections, she can handle complaints about noise and leaky pipes. But Olivia Pope is fictional in more ways than one. No one answers the phone every time it rings. Read […]
Federal Disaster Assistance for Condominium Associations and Cooperatives May be on the Horizon
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many communities throughout the tri-state area suffered severe and catastrophic damage. Community associations, much similar to single family homeowners, turned to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for financial assistance, only to be turned away. Surprisingly, federal law does not currently permit FEMA to provide financial assistance directly to […]
New Jersey and New York Condominium Associations Should Allow Mezuzahs
There have been numerous reports of condominiums making people take mezuzahs off their front door frames. These very small items are important for Jewish people and it is simply outrageous that an association would demand that this kind of object be removed. Or any similar religious ornament. Read more……..
Broken Water Pipes in a Condominium/ Homeowners Association
Its been very cold recently here in New Jersey and this has caused a lot of condominium and home owner association problems. Broken water pipes have been a big problem. Who must pay the repair bill? Is the unit owner responsible? the Association? Does it depend where the break is located? The answer to all […]
State of Surveillance: Being Safe in Your Own Condo
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 building and the neighborhood it’s in. Read more…….
Window Safety and Repairs: Protecting Against Stormy Weather
A lot of people don’t think twice about their homes’ windows—as long as you can see through them and get some air and natural light, what’s left to think about? But windows are structural openings after all, and without proper installation and maintenance, they can be a silent enemy of household comfort. No matter how […]
Hidden Dangers: What You Need to Know About Lead Paint & Other Hazards
In New Jersey, buying a co-op or a condo goes something like this: Your realtor takes you to see your dream home. You put in an offer—along with a bunch of other people. After a ferocious bidding war, your offer is finally accepted. You submit a bunch of very personal documents (in the case of […]
Do It Yourself…Or Not? When To Call a Pro!
This country was founded with a heavy dose of independence and a strong “Do-It-Yourself” attitude. The DIY mindset, with roots in Europe and European culture, crossed the Atlantic Ocean with the earliest immigrants and became part of the American tradition of personal and community responsibility. Read more…….
A Breath of Fresh Air: Maintaining Vents, Ducts & Garbage Chutes
In a multifamily building with scores, possibly hundreds of people living under one roof, cooking, cleaning, dusting and breathing, it’s no surprise that the airways, chutes and garbage rooms of these buildings can get clogged and dirty over time. Waste material, debris, and allergens can build up in a building’s airways and passages, causing everything […]
Live Long and Prosper: Life Spans of Building Systems
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 just give up the ghost and have to be replaced. Read more…….
Where’s the Money? Alternative Funding for Capital Improvements
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. Read more…….
From Good to Great: Principles for Community Association Success
Every community has its own history, personality, attributes and challenges, but all associations share common characteristics and core principles. Good associations preserve the character of their communities, protect property values and meet the established expectations of homeowners. Great associations also cultivate a true sense of community, promote active homeowner involvement and create a culture of […]
Dealing With the Disruptive: How to Handle Problem Residents
The vast majority of condo and HOA residents are regular folks who wouldn’t dream of disrupting life in their community by harassing their neighbors, bombarding their board and manager with endless complaints and threats, or filing lawsuits at the drop of a hat for every little thing. That being said, the unfortunate truth is that […]
Meeting Minders: A Guide to Running Better Meetings
You may love your building. You may even love your neighbors and the members of your board. But there are few people who can say that they love their monthly board meetings or annual owner or shareholder meetings. Read more…..
High & Mighty: When Boards Go Overboard
There’s nothing worse than being a unit owner in a building and seeing someone on your board breaking a rule and seemingly getting away with it. Read more…..
Just One Big, Happy Family…? Remedies for Dysfunctional Boards
Finding the right balance of involvement between HOAs and condo boards and residents can be like maintaining a healthy relationship with a significant other—you want to be compassionate, responsive and attentive, but not too needy, nosy or aggressive. Read more……
Watch Your Language: Carefully Drafting Contracts Protects Associations
The vast majority of both one-time projects and long-term service contracts involving vendors and service providers and their condominium or HOA clients go smoothly and either conclude or continue without incident. However, a small percentage of jobs do jump the tracks in one way or another, and when that happens, things can get complicated. Read […]
Coping With Arrears: When Residents Fall Behind
The foundation of any properly run condo association or co-op building rests on residents paying their monthly maintenance fees on time and in full, with no delays or delinquencies. However, in the wake of the recession, with many shareholders and owners still on shaky financial ground, some co-ops and condos are feeling the pinch of […]
Changing rights and obligations for construction defects in community associations in New Jersey
The rights and obligations of both developers and community associations have been expanded by the reported decision of the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Belmont Condominium Association, Inc. v. Geibel, et al., which was decided on July 9, 2013. Read More……
So You’ve Been Sued — Now What? Handling Lawsuits
Lawsuits are usually not an association’s go-to method for dispute resolution. Expensive and time-consuming, they can quickly turn into a financial burden and may create strained relations in the community. Unfortunately, in some cases there’s no other way out. Last year a couple filed a suit against a neighbor, the association, individual board members, and […]
Can You Hear Me Now? Better Neighbors Through Soundproofing
When walls are the only separation between you and your neighbors, privacy sometimes goes out the window. People hear their next-door neighbors talking, footsteps from above or even music blaring through the walls. Sound transmission between units is one of the biggest complaints among condo dwellers. Noise can also come from ceilings, doors and windows, […]
The Irrigation Situation
One of the first things both prospective residents and visitors to a condo or HOA notice are the beautiful grounds and lush landscaping surrounding the property. Of course, a key component in maintaining all that greenery is the availability of fresh water. Because of the topography of New Jersey, access to water can vary a […]