The snow is finally starting to melt after what has seemed like an extra long winter. Of course, that means the grass is thankfully starting to peek through and reintroduce itself. And with this reintroduction comes a required spring c…
In the realms of resource management and environmental concerns, coal, oil, and carbon dioxide get a lot of press—yet water is one of our most precious, most wasted, and least talked about commodities. One of the biggest culprits when i…
It’s like something from a horror movie: a six-legged invader arrives in New York, stowed away in wooden shipping crates from Mainland China. Once ashore, the creatures fan out, looking for food. The beast has no natural predators here,…
These days, nearly everybody is looking for ways to save money. Like many families, some community associations are now dealing with the consequences of not having been thrifty in the past, and searching for ways to pare back their bot…
The first robin appears. The sun stays out a little longer in the evenings, the tiniest nubs of crocus begin to break through the mud, and landscape crews begin mucking out flowerbeds. Just as sure as turning the calendar page to March…
What if your building’s boiler breaks down, or a hailstorm necessitates major emergency roof repairs for your association? Of course the first question that arises in these situations is whether your HOA’s reserve fund is adequate to co…
In this day and age of rising costs and uncertain economic climate, co-op and condo administrators have their work cut out for them when it comes to finding new ways to raise funds without drastically reducing services, raising mainten…
Like a chain, a building envelope is only as strong as its weakest link. Boards and managers often spend a lot of time and effort maintaining exterior elements like drainage, flashing, and so forth, only to neglect one of the most impo…
It sounds like an urban legend—something that supposedly happened to your cousin’s friend’s cousin. A little girl was at a barbecue party at a friend’s house, frolicking in the pool with friends. She swam to the drain at the bottom of th…
Years ago, when I babysat for a young boy, I watched him create a multi-story building out of empty cardboard boxes. The lad then ran around his proud creation, flexing his muscles and crowing, “My house is indy-structible!” (He then pr…