The second half of the 2014-2015 legislative session in Trenton is underway, and—as always—housing is on the agenda, with a large number of housing-related bills up for consideration. Read the article……….
Big Buildings, Big Boards The Art of Governing Larger Communities
With all this new action, the number of condo boards that oversee hundreds of units, or even 1,000 or more, has increased. Condo communities of that size were not very common in New Jersey a few years ago, but one look at the west side of the Hudson shows the change that’s taking place right […]
New Jersey bankruptcy court issues ruling regarding condominium association liens in Chapter 13 proceedings
On June 11, 2015, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey recognized that a condominium association’s lien is entitled to a limited six-month priority over a first mortgage. Read the article………..
The Community’s Hub: Clubhouses and Community Rooms for HOAs
Co-ops, condos and HOAs draw prospective residents with a wide variety of appealing features, from proximity to an office or family member to amazing views, to 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 and co-op living is […]
Appellate Court Upholds Requirement that Condominium Associations Must Offer Alternate Dispute Resolution for Collection of Delinquent Assessments
In an unpublished Appellate Court decision – The Glens at Pompton Plains Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Van Kleeff – the New Jersey Appellate Division made it abundantly clear that condominium associations must offer alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) for any “housing-related dispute,” including the non-payment of assessments/maintenance fees, prior to filing any non-emergent legal action against […]
New Jersey Court Applies Continuous Trigger Theory and Finds That No Coverage Is Available Because Damage Manifested Prior to Inception of Policy
In Cypress Point Condo. Ass’n. v. Selective Way Ins. Co., 2015 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 721 (March 30, 2015), the New Jersey Law Division dismissed a declaratory judgment action filed against an insurer for a framing contractor, holding that coverage was not afforded under the continuous trigger theory because the injury manifested prior to the […]
Case Tests Homeowners’ Associations’ Icy Sidewalk Liability (NJ)
The New Jersey Supreme Court is considering whether homeowners’ associations and their maintenance contractors can be held liable for injuries caused when they fail to clear snow and ice from sidewalks that they own and have pledged to maintain. Read more……….
Hiring New Management: When it’s Time for a Change
There is an old saying that claims, “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” and that is not a happy thought for a board of directors or an association looking to change property management firms. The turmoil of replacing a management company is guaranteed to be costly, not only for the board, […]
Mastering Management: Maximizing Cooperation and Partnership
Individual commitment to a group effort; that’s what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. Legendary Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi left condo boards and managers off his short list, but his wisdom about commitment and teamwork could certainly apply to boards and management companies. […]
Get Smart: Continuing Education for Association Managers
The most successful property managers realize they don’t know everything. To achieve an optimal level of efficiency in the workplace, a manager must stay abreast of current legal developments, evolving building technology, and fresh communication methods in association administration. Read more……..
It’s Tough Out There: Keeping Up in a Competitive Management Market
As the condo and HOA market continues to heal after the setback it experienced during the most recent financial crisis, many management firms and independent property managers are looking for ways to distinguish themselves from their colleagues and stand out in an increasingly tough market. The competition to manage some of the world’s priciest buildings […]
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 […]
Community Association Viewed as a Business for Maintenance Liability (NJ)
On August 12, 2015, the Supreme Court of New Jersey decided the case of Cuiyun Qian v. Toll Brothers Inc., et als. In that case, the plaintiff and her husband resided in a unit in a community association in the Township of Plainsboro. All areas other than the dwelling unit itself were common property including […]
Security vs. Privacy: Striking the Balance in Co-ops and Condos
From time immemorial, the home has been synonymous with warmth, comfort and, most importantly, safety. The boards and managers who oversee condominium communities are aiming to preserve this image by ensuring that safety is their top priority, and that residents should harbor no fear in regard to their well-being, or the well-being of their families […]
Where There’s Smoke… Developing Sound Fire Safety Policies
One only needs to watch the news regularly to understand the devastation that a fire can have on a home or community whatever the time of year. A condo fire in October in Dunellen injured a firefighter and destroyed much of the complex, leaving many of the residents homeless. Read more……….
Neighborhood Watch Groups: Looking Out for Each Other
All homeowners worry about adequate security, but many HOAs and condo associations overspend on guards, surveillance cameras, and electronic security systems. There are low-tech, more cost-effective solutions for suburban associations, though, like neighborhood watch programs, where involved residents organize themselves to observe and report important concerns. Read more……..
Disaster Management: Handling Crisis, Large or Small
……face crises that arise throughout the state every day, from fires to water main breaks to building collapses, doing so with their trademark resilience. And whereas residents have long been accustomed to lousy – aand sometimes dangerous—winter weather, it wasn’t until Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, costing over three-dozen lives and roughly $30 billion in […]
N.J. Supreme Court decision clarifies rules for condo associations, other properties: Opinion
Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and a unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court issued this week a virtual emancipation proclamation for the million and a half residents of some 6,400 common interest communities in New Jersey. Common interest communities are condominiums, homeowners¹ association and co-op residences which are required by state law to elect their own governing […]
Condominiums and Mold –What can a unit owner do?
A Florida woman is complaining about an issue that we see frequently: a neighbor with a severe mold problem. See attached news article. Many condominiums and townhouses are constructed in a manner so that mold in one unit can travel into adjoining units. Its similar to noise or odors: one unit can affect neighboring […]
Top 10 Energy Tips: Good Advice Makes Saving Simpler
There’s probably not a condo, co-op, or HOA board that doesn’t worry about money at some point or another, which is why staying on top of the latest money-saving opportunities is vital for any building or community to be successful. One of the biggest ways to save money is to cut energy costs, and there […]
Office of the Attorney General (NJ) Issues Disability Fact Sheet for Housing with Homeowner’s Associations
Division on Civil Rights Director Craig T. Sashihara announced today that the Division has posted a new Disability Accommodation Fact Sheet on its Web site that explains disability accommodation rights for the owners and occupants of condominiums, cooperatives and other common interest communities governed by a homeowners’ association or similar entity. The Fact Sheet discusses […]
The Importance for Community Associations to Record Governing Document and Timely File Objections to a Chapter 13 Plan
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 […]
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 […]