- RI developer accused of ‘shoddy’ and substandard work ordered to pay over $750K in damages April 30, 2024
A Superior Court judge on Monday upheld an arbitration award of more than $750,000 to owners of a condominium complex who say the developer performed shoddy and substandard work when he renovated their building in 2019. Read the article…………………………….
- Providence condo owners say developer’s shoddy work cost them thousands. They want answers (RI) March 21, 2024
A developer who for years has left a trail of complaints resulting in multiple suspensions and fines by the state contractor’s registration board continues to do business in Rhode Island – even though he owes the state more than a quarter of a million dollars in personal income taxes. Read the article…………………………….
- Deed restriction may frustrate lender’s foreclosure on real estate development (RI) February 27, 2024
The redeveloper of the former Memorial Hospital campus in Pawtucket could challenge a lender’s foreclosure on the property based on the alleged invalidity of the mortgage that it defaulted on, a Superior Court judge has found. Defendant Memorial Development LLC took out a $3.5 million mortgage on the property in 2022, which the original lender assigned to plaintiff Memorial Real Estate Group, LLC. The property was apparently encumbered by a deed restriction prohibiting any sale, conveyance or transfer without the ...
- Residents of condemned condos once again in search of housing (RI) December 5, 2023
The former residents of North Providence’s Canterbury Village are once again scrambling to find somewhere to live. Dozens of residents were forced from their homes back in October after the town deemed the building uninhabitable. Read the article…………………………….
- Uninsured and without help: Lincoln homeowners struggle to understand private sewer lines (RI) November 30, 2023
Seventeen years ago, the town relinquished responsibility for sewer lines in this Lincoln neighborhood, deeming homeowners responsible for them. Now, officials are pinning the blame on developers as residents of the Sableswood North Subdivision search for answers and help on how to maintain uninsurable sewer lines. Read the article……………………………….
- Aesthetic Rules Balancing Community Value with Individual Rights
In the world of single-family homes, property owners can do pretty much whatever they want when it comes to the look of their place. They can paint their house bright purple, for instance. Or display Christmas or Halloween decorations that are so bright or scary they may keep the neighbors up at night. Clearly, the community nature of co-op and condo living—particularly in urban multifamily buildings—puts some limits to these forms of self-expression in the name of visual continuity, taste, ...
- The Finer Points of Fining Condominium Owners
Condo association rules provide a behavioral road map for owners, explaining what they are allowed and not allowed to do. But creating effective rules is only half the challenge for boards; enforcing the rules is the other arguably more challenging half of this equation. When it comes to enforcement, boards don’t have many tools. They can’t “vote owners off the island,” they can’t arrest owners and they can’t evict owners from units they own. Read the article…………………………….
- Replacing Board Members
Problem: One member of our seven-member board has resigned, leaving us with only six members. The association’s documents require a seven-member board, but the next election, at which a new board member might be elected, is several months away and there don’t appear to be any owners willing to fill the vacant position. Read the Q&A………………………………..
- Roof Replacement 101: A Project Too Vital to Put Off
Nothing lasts forever, not even your roof. While roofs have a relatively long life compared to other building systems and components, at some point they will need either partial or full replacement. Here are the facts and factors you and your community need to know when your roof’s useful life starts winding down. Read the article…………………………….
- Tree Care & Maintenance: Keeping Your Biggest Landscaping Elements Healthy
Trees provide us with many benefits, from the obvious to the not-so-obvious. Whether your community is an urban high-rise surrounded by hundreds of others, or a sprawling suburban development with acres of grounds, its trees are an integral part of the landscape—one that we often take for granted, but which requires specific, dedicated care and maintenance in order to stay healthy and lush for decades to come. Read the article…………………………….
- Holding Orderly, Efficient Annual Meetings – It’s Not as Hard as It Seems!
Talk to anyone familiar with common-interest community governance anywhere in the country, and they will tell you the same thing: apathy is rampant among residents of co-ops, condos, and HOAs. Not only is it difficult to get owners and shareholders to run for their boards of directors, but it’s a struggle to even get them to show up to the once-a-year meetings held to elect those board members and to update the community on what is happening in their home ...
- Boards & Boundaries: How ‘Available’ Should You Be?
In multifamily residential communities, where neighbors share common space, amenities, and maintenance—if not actual walls—establishing and maintaining boundaries can be a bit tricky. Read the article…………………………….