2004 Oct
2004 Oct Vol. 24, No. 10
Focus on...Association Operations
Tips for Smooth, Productive Meetings
Condominium associations, homeowners association (HOA), and co-op boards generally hold regular board meetings to get input from residents, resolve problems within the community, develop budgets for the upcoming year and handle any issues that homeowners need to talk about. Read More
Owners' Rights vs. Condo Rules
New condo owners get a lot of papers and documents during the purchasing process, and among the most important they receive are the community's Declaration of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&R), the bylaws, administrative guidelines, and other legal documents spelling out the rules and regulations for life in their new home. Read More
Associations' Top Complaints
Homeowners move into a community association for a variety of reasons. Some people seek carefree, maintenance-free living, where all responsibility for home care, recreation, or community activities is handled efficiently and promptly by others in return for a monthly fee. Others seek security or affordability. But being part of a larger community of neighbors means more than just sharing the clubhouse, the laundry room or the in-house gym on the weekends. Read More
A Look at Municipal Reimbursement
Double taxation is a term often referred to by residents of private communities to describe having to pay property taxes to their town in addition to the monthly maintenance fees they pay to their community association for services like snowplowing and recycling. When a condominium community provides services to its residents that the local municipality would normally pay for, it raises the question of reimbursement to the association for what can potentially seem like an unfair arrangement. Read More
New Brunswick
The fastest growing small city in New Jersey may also be one of the most livable. The decades-old cooperation of government, academia, and the private sector have made New Brunswick a cultural, industrial, and educational hub for New Jersey. Read More
The Tough Job of Collecting Arrears
One of the more complicated issues that occasionally faces an association is what to do if a homeowner becomes delinquent in paying their monthly common charges. While financial problems are a burden on the homeowner first and foremost, the effects of their late or missing payments unfortunately stretch far beyond their personal budgetary problems. Delinquencies can have a serious effect on the community's upkeep and economic future. Homeowners' bad debt can force common charges to be increased to make up the deficit, and in turn, this debt can negatively affect the association's credit rating. Read More
