2014 July
Focus on... Law & Legislation

Finance Budgeting and the Bottom Line
2014 July Budgeting and the Bottom Line

Preparing the annual budget is by no means an easy task. Those charged with preparing cooperative, condominium or HOA budgets will soon begin reviewing costs, gathering data and projecting expenses for the coming year. Communities, busines…

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Finance Cutting Costs – Without Cutting Corners
2014 July Cutting Costs – Without Cutting Corners

As the 2012 federal legislative fiasco over the debt ceiling—as well as any number of other spending bills proposed since then—demonstrated, balancing a budget can be like pulling teeth. Balancing a condo or HOA community's budget can some…

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Finance Surviving a Financial Firestorm
2014 July Surviving a Financial Firestorm

One of the biggest problems that can cause the downfall of any co-op or condo is a lack of funds, or more specifically, not enough money to keep operations running smoothly and to make the necessary repairs to keep everything up to par. …

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Board Operations Governing Docs 101
2014 July Governing Docs 101

Homeowners associations and co-ops alike are governed by a set of specific documents that lay out the administrative structure of the community, its rules and regulations, and protocols for decision-making. The certificate of incorporation…

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Community Building Hackettstown, New Jersey
2014 July Hackettstown, New Jersey

Hackettstown, New Jersey is one of a kind, literally. In fact, it is one of the few towns in the United States that has no duplicate in name, meaning there is no other Hackettstown. Before its incorporation in 1853 it formed a part o…

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Q&A Q&A: Investigating a Water Leak
2014 July Q&A: Investigating a Water Leak

Q My property manager told me that the moisture meter in the hallway adjoining my bathroom has a high reading. There’s no visible damage on the wallpaper in the co-op hallway, there’s no visible damage, and there’s no leaks in the bathroo…

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Q&A Q&A: Foreclosing on a Board Member
2014 July Q&A: Foreclosing on a Board Member

Due to sudden and unfortunate circumstances, one of our condo's board of directors had to start the foreclosure process on his unit. The board is not sure how to handle the situation—if there are any conflict of interests. Does he have to r…

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