I’ll admit it, I’m something of a Grinch. I’m just not very good at putting up the holiday decorations that so many other people do so well. My neighborhood is having a holiday light competition. I haven’t managed to put up any lights, but if I were to put up anything, it would look like […]
Smart Buildings, Smart Boards: If Phones Can be Smart, Why Not Buildings?
If phones can be “smart,” why not buildings? With the ever-expanding array of consumer technology available today, it should come as no surprise that residential buildings are able to incorporate more and more cutting-edge technology into their communications, security, and operations systems than ever before, and to unify building operating systems so they can be […]
The Importance of Knowing Your Warranties
Warranties for products are simple to understand, most people might think. You go to the store, buy a computer or a DVD player or a TV, or even a larger appliance like a refrigerator, and you get a piece of paper describing a one-year or two-year warranty, and what’s covered. Sometimes, for some extra money, […]
Masonry Requires Regular Maintenance
What many co-op and condo associations don’t understand is that there is a fair share of maintenance that goes into brickwork. From repointing and caulking to cleaning and sanding – brick walls are an investment and if taken care of appropriately can last beautifully for generations. Read More……
Planning for Capital Improvement Project Contingencies
Sooner or later, every resident living in a condo, HOA or co-op community will have to deal with the inconvenience of living through a major capital improvement project—a roof replacement, an elevator rehab, serious exterior work, or something of that nature. Read More……
Holiday Safety Reminders
As we celebrate the holidays this season, it is important that we practice safety during the festivities. The following are some precautions and safety measures recommended by the United States Fire Administration and your local Fire Department. Read More……
Clear Dog Policies Help to Avoid Disputes, Confusion for Community Associations
Doggie disputes are a common issue for many owners and board members in South Florida condominium communities. In today’s housing market, many people who were previously living in a single-family home are now finding themselves living in condominiums or deed-restricted communities with their pets. Read More……
Strategic Planning for the New Year
We all know that it is easy to get caught up in day-to-day activities and “emergencies” that command so much of our time. But we also know that, every once in awhile, it is a good idea to take a step back and reflect on where we have been, and where we are going. While […]
Meeting Moment–Amending Minutes
The first action item on most owners’ meeting agendas is approving the minutes of the last owners’ meeting. Let’s say that — as usual — you have an ambitious agenda, with many action items and a limited time in which to get through them all. But when the secretary moves to approve last year’s minutes, […]
Is Your Association Prepared for Natural Disasters?
Natural disasters come in many shapes and sizes. It could be a tornado, a flood, Superstorm Sandy, or a wildfire. Regardless of the type of disaster, the devastation and loss is often overwhelming. Nothing can fully prepare someone to handle the emotional impact of a natural disaster. However, with some thought and planning before a […]
The Quiet Rise of the Much-Maligned Condo
Junius Henri Browne bought one of the original flats in the Rembrandt, an eight-unit apartment building on West 57th Street in Manhattan that opened, in 1881, marking what we’d think of today as the country’s very first condo. The apartments cost about $16,250 (or some $2.4 million now). Browne, a well-known Civil War correspondent at […]
Rules for the Holidays
The holidays are just around the corner, and for many people, that means lots of festivities with friends and loved ones. With all of the merriment that’s sure to ensue, it’s important that residents who are hosting celebrations are not only considerate of their neighbors, but also take note of the association’s rules. A complete […]
Survival Steps: How The Albert Co-op Weathered Hurricane Sandy (video)
Fred Rudd, manager of The Albert, discusses how the cooperative’s advance emergency planning helped the residents cope with an eight-day blackout in the wake of the devastating hurricane that hit New York last month. More storm reports from New York-area co-ops and condos at www.habitatmag.com. Read More……
Drones: A Controversial Eye in the Sky for Property Managers
Ashley Halligan writes: “The FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act, passed earlier this year, will authorize funds exceeding $60 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through 2015. The bill, intended to accelerate modernization in U.S. aviation, includes a rather controversial component: drones.” Read More……
Steps that should be taken to protect a community association’s funds
When property management companies go out of business, they can leave behind trails of unpaid bills and large losses from community associations’ reserve and operating accounts. There are many ways to protect your association funds. Read More……
The Insurance Puzzle – What Boards Must DO and Must AVOID
A key obligation of the association board is to protect the assets of the association. One of the primary elements of this responsibility is insurance, but many volunteer board members have limited experience with insurance. They’re only familiar with purchasing personal auto, home and life insurance. Most know the limits and the price, but few […]
The Benefits of Being on the Board
Many co-op and condo owners want to get involved in their community but they soon find out that being on the board is no picnic. Soon neighbors are pestering them asking for feuds to be settled, decisions that affect all resident’s lives have to be made, and then there are the books…financial matters that have […]
When Owners Don’t Pay: HOA Boards Struggle to Make Ends Meet
Nothing remained in the New Jersey townhome after the owner, exasperated and struggling, financially picked up and left. And took everything with him. “Not only did he walk away, but he gutted his house,” says Joseph J. Balzamo, a president at Alliance Property Management LLC in Morristown. “He took the appliances, he took the electric, […]
Getting Out the Vote: Holding Fair Elections
When it comes to running board elections in a condo or co-op community, the biggest concern among those involved is making sure the elections are fair and balanced and nobody has a reason to cry foul. Elections can be heated as it is, so the voting process should run smoothly and without any hiccups. Read […]
Electronic Communication (Emails) Are Discoverable in Litigation
Our firm philosophy has long been “Communication not Litigation.” This philosophy is based on the belief that disputes are best resolved in a voluntary and reasonable manner rather than through the time, expense and aggravation of a lawsuit. Recent developments in the law, however, may require Association boards to pay much more attention to how […]
Fiduciary Duty: What Boards & Residents Should Know
Being elected to the board of directors of a co-op or condo comes with a great deal of power, and with that power also comes a great deal of responsibility. Whether they serve a co-op or condo community, board members, in their position of power, have a responsibility to govern and make decisions on behalf […]
‘Redemption’ from Uncollected Debt
Last week Gina Botti blogged about the importance of properly recording an association assessment lien. Although CCIOA states that a lien is ‘perfected’ or in place upon the recording of the association’s Declaration, it is still important to prepare and record a Notice of Lien to ensure that the lien is not overlooked upon the […]
Association Safeguards: A 12-Step Program to Protect You and Your Association
This article addresses those key affirmative steps a board, on behalf of the association, should take in order to protect the association. Although the needs of every community are inherently different, the following steps are applicable to every association and will help boards stay informed about the status of their associations. Read More……
Private Loans from Co-op / Condo Reserves: Good Idea? Oh, no, no, no, no
A board member wished to borrow a portion of the reserve fund for a personal business transaction. He agreed to (a) pay seven percent interest on the money, (b) repay the money within 30 days of a demand by the board, (c) execute an assignment of rental income from a rental property he owned, (d) […]
Make Sure to Vote – At Your HOA Annual Meeting!
If you are like me, election day couldn’t come soon enough. While I’m truly a political junkie, the negative campaigning became so overwhelming that even I muted the TV during commercials and we quit answering the incessant political calls. While the negative campaigns were distasteful and the truth became something that was optional, the real […]
Political Yard Signs: When Your HOA Can Tell You to Take Them Down
Ah, November! The month when Americans put up political yard signs hoping to sway their neighbors’ votes — until the community association tells them to get those signs out of the yards. If you’re one of the more than 60 million Americans — about 1 in 5 U.S. residents — who live in a homeowners […]
Why you need to pay attention to the money
David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that the owner of a Kansas City, Missouri business was sentenced in federal court today for embezzling more than $750,000 from dozens of homeowners associations. Dale Palmer, 54, of Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey […]
A “Tail” of Two Doggies: Lessons of Both the Absurd and Practical in Dealing with Pet Cases
In my legal practice, few cases are more prone to absurd happenings, bizarre government policies, and expensive litigation than pet cases. Well meaning associations set up rules to either prohibit pets all together or to limit their size, often in an effort to avoid having excessively large, loud, or potentially dangerous animals in the community. […]
Tax-exempt, or Not-for-profit?
We are frequently asked, “If we are a not-for-profit corporation, why do we still have to pay taxes?” Tax exempt and not-for-profit are two completely different concepts in the world of community associations. The notion of being not-for-profit stems from the fact that the association’s income is only the maintenance fees collected from the members. The […]
How to avoid becoming a headline – or successfully dealing with it if you do
As you know, from time to time, HOAs end up in the news for perceived abuses to residents of an association or to question actions taken by the board or management. While the allegations in the news coverage may or may not be true, it’s rare to see a flattering story about an HOA. As […]
Be Nice to Grumps!
Every Board member knows there are some people who are simply grumps. They enjoy creating a negative environment. While Board members are only human, it’s important to remember to treat grumps the same as any other member of the association. If a Board treats a grump differently, that Board could end up with a case […]
Can Your HOA Put Its Mitts on Your Mitt Sign?
Ah, November! The month when Americans put up political yard signs hoping to sway their neighbors’ votes — until the community association tells them to get that sign out of the yard. If you’re one of the more than 60 million Americans — about one in five U.S. residents — who live in a home […]
Disaster!
What does a community association board of directors do if a natural disaster wipes out all or a portion of its association? When and where is it likely to happen? Is there a plan for dealing with it? Is this a problem to worry about? Yes, worry about it. A natural disaster can strike a […]
Don’t Do This! How Not to Manage a Construction Project
“Don’t try this at home!” This warning, which scrolls under some television ads and programs, would be equally appropriate advice for the way one community association board managed a major construction project. (This is not actually one specific board but a composite, reflecting the experiences of several different boards.) The trustees obviously didn’t set out […]
Exposing Common Myths in HOA Operations
We frequently hear about and see associations acting on myths that seem to persist despite being clearly incorrect. Here are some of those myths and misunderstandings and the truth behind them: Read More……
Wildfire App catches Fire
The 2012 wildfire season was one of the worst on record, leaving the people at the American Red Cross busy devising new and innovative ways to get information to people faster. As a response to the growing use of technology, they have created the “Wildfire App.” Read More……
Assessment Collections Practices are Leading to Lawsuits
Recent lawsuits involving community associations have created quite a stir among condominiums and homeowners associations, as owners have alleged in the suits that law firms and associations are improperly seeking to collect unpaid assessments, interest and other charges in violation of Florida law and the governing documents of the associations. The lawsuits seek to recover […]
New Smoking Law Affects All Santa Monica Condos
Santa Monica has passed a law with new smoking rules that affect all multi-unit housing, and that includes condominiums. Follow this link to review the new municipal code. Follow this link to review a related notice from the City of Santa Monica. What follows is a description of the new law as it impacts condominiums. […]
Knowledge, Participation and Solutions Empower Homeowners
Last Thursday, as Chair of CAI’s Colorado Legislative Action Committee, I served on a panel for a Town Hall Meeting hosted by State Representatives Angela Williams, Su Ryden, Rhonda Fields, Nancy Todd and State Senator Morgan Carroll. The topic of the evening revolved around HOAs, the problems folks living in them sometimes experience and whether […]
Anatomy of An HOA Dispute Run Amok
After 11 years of battling, a judge has finally resolved an outstanding covenant enforcement dispute which involved many court hearings, a jury trial, two appeals and then a second trial. That’s correct, 11 years of an owner and an association going round-for-round on who was right. Read More……
Aggressive Strategies with Foreclosure Properties Helping Many Associations
During the slow recovery in the housing market, many community associations are taking more aggressive approaches with foreclosures and rentals to recover delinquencies and gain financial strength. These associations are using their lien rights in order to avoid the issues that arise with bank delays in foreclosure cases, as delays have become the norm in […]
Of Course You Don’t Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance – Or Do You?
We occasionally get questions about whether a homeowners association should obtain its own workers’ compensation insurance, and when we recommend “Yes,” the inevitable question is “Why; we don’t have any employees?” Read More……
How a condominium association can beat the bank to money
In today’s economy, banks and courts are processing foreclosures at a historically slow pace, evidenced by the New York Times article predicting that it will take close to 62 years for the foreclosures currently pending in New York State to come to a disposition. Generally, when a unit is being foreclosed upon by a bank […]
Reserve Studies: Like a FICO Score For HOAs
A Reserve Study is one part physical analysis and one part financial analysis. For the last 30 years we’ve helped thousands of clients across the country anticipate and prepare for their community’s major repair and replacement costs. Armed with this knowledge they can make accurate disclosures to homeowners and set their monthly dues accordingly. However, […]
How a Condo Board Can Collect Arrears By Using a Little-Known Tool Called DILF
With the recent economic downturn, condominium boards have been plagued by unit owners defaulting on their monthly common charge. With fewer unit-owners paying, boards are faced with the prospect of increasing common charges in order to collect the deficit from those owners in good standing — unless they can collect the unpaid charges. Read More……
The Silent Killer
Over the weekend, I was once again reminded of the importance of carbon monoxide detectors. Sadly, it was reported that one person died and a total of nine families were displaced from their apartment complex in Colorado Springs due to high levels of carbon monoxide. Read More……
HOA’s: When you don’t like the rules
If you live in a newer suburban community or planned unit development, you are probably a member of a homeowners association (HOA). It’s also a good bet that you haven’t given your HOA much thought until you have a problem. Since HOAs make and enforce the community rules, it’s smart to understand what you can […]
Help with Going Green: Tapping Federal and State Incentive Programs
With the green movement in full swing across the country, it is not surprising that incorporating energy saving and efficient measures has trickled into condominium development. Today, many buildings in New Jersey pride themselves for having a variety of eco-friendly features ranging from green roofs, the use of sustainable materials and recycling on-site. Read More……