Even if your condominium or homeowner’s association (HOA) is a fortified castle atop a hill and surrounded by a moat, one day, someone will hit it with a really big rock, and thus it’s inevitable: work will be done, repairs will be made, the sun will set. But some projects are of greater consequence than […]
Utility Hazards: Recognizing the Signs of Danger
There are certain perils—fires, major weather events, and so forth—that announce themselves clearly; others are more subtle, if no less hazardous. Things like gas leaks, electrical shorts and surges, and water leaks may not be as dramatic as a hurricane or a nor’easter, but the damage they can cause can be staggeringly expensive. Read the […]
Spring Cleaning Checklist: A Property Manager “Must-Do” List
Spring cleaning isn’t just for unit owners. As we move out of the winter months, now is a great time to make sure your property is “spic and span” for the rest of 2016. Read the article………….
Maintaining Roofs: Repairs, Replacement, and Responsibility
A building’s roof serves as the first line of defense against whatever the skies throw at its inhabitants—wind, rain and blazing sun, even snow and ice in some climates—so it’s crucial for that roof to be sound and well maintained. All it takes is one small crack or hole for the rainwater to get in […]
Rhode Island Supreme Court gives HOAs priority above mortgage liens
The Supreme Court of Rhode Island supports the homeowner’s association “super priority” concept, making The Ocean State part of a growing list of states that are, in some fashion, ruling in favor of making HOA liens a priority above mortgage liens. Read the article………..
Upgrading Security: The Latest Technologies for Condos and HOAs
While it’s true that over the last two decades, New England has become a safer place to call home, that doesn’t mean that security concerns don’t still exist—especially for those in condos or HOAs. While security guards, electronic gates and doormen are a good start for providing residents with a welcome sense of security, thanks […]
Doing It Yourself: Does Self Management Really Work for Your Property?
Is it simply about the money? Condo associations that forgo the services of professional management are cutting what may seem like a major expense. But the belief that “we can do it ourselves” may work great for some time and for some properties but may not ultimately be a good value or work in all […]
Board Transparency: Let It All Out — Really?
In town and city government, elected officials and committee volunteers are duty-bound and legally required to maintain open meetings and treat every line item of taxpayer funds as public information. Condominium communities, and the way they’re operated, are often compared to municipal governments, but there’s nothing “public” about them, really. Read the article……….
Us Versus Us: What to Do About a Bad Board
Infighting: The thought of it in a condo community makes everyone cringe, from residents to board of trustee members to property managers. It also puts those involved in an awkward position. Although it isn’t a common occurrence, thankfully, conflict can happen even within associations that have been typically harmonious. Sometimes problems arise within the board […]
HUD’s Proposed Harassment Rule Would Be Painful for Condo Associations
The department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has offered that assurance for regulations the agency has proposed, clarifying the standards for assessing harassment claims under the Fair Housing Act. Read the article………
Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules That Condominium Assessment Liens Could Extinguish First-Priority Mortgages
First mortgage holders in Rhode Island beware: in a 4-1 decision handed down on December 4, 2015, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled that pursuant to the Rhode Island Condominium Act, RIGL § 34-36.1-1.01 et seq., liens for six months of unpaid common fees prior to the foreclosure have super-priority status, and can extinguish […]
FHFA Attacks Condominium Limited Priority Lien
The condominium “superlien” is under attack. That doesn’t overstate at all the concerted efforts now under way to revoke a measure that has been working well in many states for more than two decades. Nor does it exaggerate the potential threat to the financial health and viability of condo associations all over the country. Read […]
Building Safety for Everyone: Emergency Preparation Includes Residents with Special Needs
New England is home to more than three million seniors age 60 and older, and about one in four suffers some type of physical impairment. When you factor in a climate prone to blizzards and heavy snow storms, a disaster plan is an obvious necessity for all HOAs, condos, and multifamily dwellings across the region. […]
Condo Inspections: Check Yourself
Condominium associations, whether housed in a single building or in a sprawling development, provide a reliably cozy and comfortable community in which to live. But this comfort requires vigilance on the part of both board and management to ensure that the various and sundry components up to code, which can feel daunting for those on […]
Denying Access: Consequences for Arrears and Non-Payment
The synopsis for the 2013 horror film The Purge is pretty extreme: in the future, society implements a 12-hour period called “the purge,” wherein any and all crime is legalized. Always wanted to vandalize your boss’s car? Thinking about shoplifting a Snickers bar? Now is the time to act on those—and other, far more nasty—antisocial […]
Security Technology: Keeping Buildings and Residents Safe
The most important aspect of managing a building is keeping it, its residents, and their property safe. In days past, ‘safety technology’ consisted mostly of well-lit exits, the installation of panic bars and glow-in-the-dark stripping on exit doors. Read the article………..
Maintaining a Healthy Building: How’s the Air in There?
It was January 1977 when the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) first identified and isolated a previously unknown strain of bacteria found breeding in the cooling tower of a hotel air conditioning system. The bacteria, subsequently named Legionella, caused an outbreak of what is known as Legionnaires Disease, and the world first became aware of […]
Upholding Your Fiduciary Duty: Transparency is the Best Path for Boards
Being on the board of a co-op or condo is a big responsibility— one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. While some people may run for a board seat just to have the title, they need to be prepared to govern fairly and make decisions that are in the best interest of the community as a […]
Best Boards Ever: Efficiency Breeds Success
Articles in this publication, seminars like those offered at the New England Condo Expo, and, of course, television news broadcasts, often focus on problems that face condo associations—legal issues, maintenance concerns, special assessment fees, and so on. As a result, it’s easy to overlook the victories that can emerge from trying times. Here’s a welcome […]
You Can’t Prevent Snow and Ice but You Can Manage the Liability Risks They Create
Condominium residents, not unreasonably, expect parking lots to be plowed and walkways to be cleared of snow and ice. Boards that fail to deliver those expected services face not only the ire of residents, but also potential liability if residents or visitors suffer ice- and snow-related injuries. Those liability risks for community associations are far […]
Energy-Saving Incentives: Taking Advantage, Saving Money
Trade-offs are a symptom of modern society, and we all find ourselves playing one zero-sum game or another. All the more reason to appreciate circumstances under which everyone wins, right? Enter the concept of energy incentives. Energy conservation benefits both the environment and, thanks to state and federal government incentives, your bank account. […]
Power-Up with Co-Generation: A Look at our Next Generation’s Technology
The process of producing energy for metropolitan New England-area co-ops and condos has dramatically evolved in recent years, advancing to the point in which one energy professional has quipped, “The old way of using a traditional energy-producing system is like using a chainsaw to cut butter.” Read the article………………
A Green New World: Encouraging Environmentally-Friendly Behavior in Your Community
These days, as the summers get hotter, the storms get bigger, and climate change is finding its way into more headlines than ever before, more attention is being paid to the environment and how the average citizen can do his or her part to support it. Read the article………
Insurance Decisions: How Much Coverage is Enough?
Earthquake insurance is very common in California, for obvious reasons—but what about in New England? Tremors may be rare here, but nonetheless, they do happen. And they can cause damage to condominiums and other structures. Read the article………..
Homesharing and Insurance: What Your Board Should Know
Long before Airbnb became a household word, attorney Frank Flynn was dealing with condominium owners who thought that turning their units into a bed and breakfast was a great idea. “It’s a terrible idea. You get all these people coming and going, wandering into the building,” says the managing partner of the Boston-based Flynn Law […]
Filing Insurance Claims: Choosing Wisely Can Save Money
Boards and associations, just like individuals, carry insurance coverage to protect them from liability, loss and other financial and legal problems, although the issues may be a little different than the typical auto or single-family homeowners’ insurance. But deciding when, and if, to file a claim versus paying out of pocket can be conundrum. Read […]
Insuring Winter’s Woes: Dealing with the Problems of Ice Dams
The birds are chirping, the trees are plush and green, and the beaches are lined with people. The record-breaking winter of only a few months ago, when inch after inch of snow piled up in New England, causing trouble for roads, businesses, and private homes—it’s hard to believe it ever happened. Summer months can offer […]
Money Talks: Communicating About Condo Finances
Imagine sitting down with your significant other to pay the monthly bills. You both put your checks into a joint account and know how much there is to take care of expenses, or so you think. Out of his wallet your husband pulls out receipts for a new suit, dinner with his friends and a […]
Dealing with Code Violations: Better Safe Than Sorry
Remember that “better to be safe than sorry” adage? It applies to condo associations with regard to building code violations. Not only does it apply, it’s an understatement. No association wants to or intends to violate building codes. It’s the sort of thing that “just happens”—meaning that it often comes as a surprise due to […]
We Don’t Hear You: Handling Board Complaints
Communication is vital to running a successful condo complex or co-op building. So what happens when dwellers complain that board members are not listening and—even worse —ignoring their problems? Well, you can bet it will not foster warm, fuzzy open lines of communication. Instead, it creates animosity and even more problems for a now unpopular, […]
Don’t Raid the Cookie Jar: Capital Budgeting is Essential
Sometimes the future seems like it’s an awfully long way away. If a roof is going to last 30 years, why should we worry about it today? Same with that shiny new boiler or that flat, crack-free pavement just poured two summers ago. Eventually, though, everything new grows old. Wear and tear sets in and […]
Avoiding Litigation: The Power of Alternative Dispute Resolution
With dozens—sometimes hundreds—of people living in a community governed by neighbors, acquaintances and friends, it should be no surprise that disputes occasionally arise in condo buildings. Read the article………….
Liquid Assets: Maintaining a Safe Community Pool
Some lucky condos offer the benefits of an indoor or outdoor swimming pool for their residents; it’s a splashy amenity that many people request when looking for a home…but there are many drawbacks, issues, and liabilities that come with managing a pool. Read the article……….
Unique Amenities: What’s New in Today’s Market?
The latest boom of luxury real estate development in New York City seems to have sent seismic waves across the Northeast. In the past five years, luxury buildings in Boston and other East Coast cities have installed almost any amenity they can think of, from rock-climbing walls to driving ranges and pet concierges. Read the […]
The Community Hub: How HOAs Can Make the Most of Their Clubhouse
Condos, co-ops and HOAs draw prospective residents with a wide variety of appealing features, from proximity to an office or family member to amazing views or the concept of having someone else mow the lawn, fix the roof, and maintain the property. For certain residents, however, the biggest appeal of co-op or condo living is […]
Up on the Roof: Roof Decks and Gardens Provide Urban Retreats
When space is a commodity, where can condominium associations put their gardens, their social spaces, even their hot tubs? “On the roof,” says Jack Carr, licensed engineer and senior vice president of Criterium Engineers in Portland, Maine. Read the article……….
Can It Wait? Balancing Projects That Must be Done and Projects to Put on Hold
Now that the economy is looking better and heading back toward solvency, building administrators are more inclined to spend money on maintenance projects that they may have been putting off in years past. Of course, many community associations are still feeling the financial burden that has come about over the last few years due to […]
Insurance Complexities Create Challenges and Liability Risks for Condo Boards and Managers
“My condo community is insured for full replacement value,” the board’s president announced confidently. “Our manager assures us,” he added, “that we have all coverage we need.” I hear these confident assertions often, and they make me shudder. Many condo associations have learned through painful experience that their full replacement policy may not fully cover […]
Ice Dams, Leaks, Budget Gaps and Liability Risks: Some Strategies for Coping with a Winter from Hell
Most of us have never seen a winter like the one that (we hope) has finally ended. We’ve never seen this much snow, temperatures this cold sustained for this long, this many ice dams or this many leaking, sagging roofs. And the damage resulting from these “never seen” conditions is likely to achieve “never seen” […]
Weatherproofing 101: Methods, Materials, and Errors in Waterproofing a Building
The first week of 2015 brought torrential downpours and freezing temperatures to the New England area, and this horrendous wind-driven rain resulted in numerous calls to weatherproofing and waterproofing companies throughout the area from condominiums seeing water creeping into their buildings. Read more………..
Insurance Issues Create Confusion and Risks for Condominium Boards and Owners
It might be possible to find an issue more prone to error and confusion than condominium insurance, but it wouldn’t be easy. Hundreds and probably thousands of treatises have been written on different aspects of this complicated topic, but like a fire that isn’t completely extinguished, the questions keep coming. New questions arise as old […]
A Fine Line: Penalties Meant to Enforce Compliance with Condo Rules
Break the rules. Pay a fine. Repeat. That’s not the way it’s supposed to work—but community associations that don’t keep penalties for rules infractions up to date may find that residents consider it easier (and possibly cheaper) to pay fines than comply with the regulations. Read more……..
A Sound Relationship: Cultivating Connections with Vendors
Dealing with service vendors is a necessity for any condo development, as there are always going to be things that need to be repaired, replaced, serviced, cleaned or renovated. Read more……..
Home Sweet Home: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
In densely-packed urban environments and sprawling suburban developments, people can often feel isolated despite living in close proximity to their neighbors. Read more…….
Looking Ahead: What’s in Store for Condominiums in 2015
It’s been said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. As the calendar turns to 2015, that message fits neatly into the condominium picture. There’s no doubt that new technologies, new laws and new philosophies on many aspects of community life are evolving — but at the same time, many of […]
Having the Proper Skill Set: Education Helps Managers Meet Expectations
Property managers are known for wearing many hats, and are expected to be expert in some very diverse topics. Few of them, however, train for and begin their careers as property managers; most came into the industry from other fields. Managers can be anything from ex-teachers to ex-electricians, and often admit to picking up skills […]
Mastering Your Management Partnership: Going Beyond the Contract
Management companies that work with community associations typically begin their working relationship by negotiating a contract. The parties involved do their best to carefully craft an agreement and the terms of service that will cover every task and duty that the association board expects its management firm to do. Management, in turn, identifies the roles […]
Quiz Me: Questions to Ask Before Hiring the Manager
From time to time, a co-op, condo or HOA community may have to hire a new management company. It may be that the current firm just isn’t working out or the community may have decided to transition from self-management to an outside firm. Read more………..
CAI Best Practices: Ethics
Simply put, when someone is employing ethics, he or she recognizes what is right and what is wrong and is choosing to do the right thing; however, as a great deal of business ethics literature will attest, “the right thing” is not always straightforward. For example, most ethical dilemmas in the workplace are not simply […]