Co-op and condo board members are usually volunteers who give of their time and expertise to help make sure their building or HOA is well-run and their investment protected. In a perfect world, new board members are architecture graduat…
Doing a major window replacement or repair project in a building or association that’s home to dozens, or even hundreds of people isn’t easy. There are any number of scheduling and access considerations, and time is obviously of the ess…
When most managers and condo-dwellers think of “pests,” they're probably thinking of mice and bugs—especially if they live in an urban area. But in semi-rural and even suburban New Jersey, any number of animals can make nuisances of them…
As the leaders of their community and guardians of their residents' investment and quality of life, HOA board members have a lot of responsibility, and access to a great deal of personal—sometimes sensitive—information about their neighbo…
There’s a scene in the classic film Dirty Harry in which the eponymous detective, played iconically by Clint Eastwood, is called off the main case in order to stop a would-be suicide from jumping from a tall building. After this succes…
Here’s the scenario: the developer of your suburban building, who still owns enough units to throw his weight around, hires a property manager who plays fast and loose with the municipal tax codes. So much so in fact, that he winds up i…
When one thinks of Princeton, New Jersey, the first thing that comes to mind is the Ivy League university that put the town on the map—and with good reason. Perennially ranked in the top handful of colleges in the country and with an en…
Most of the time, condo and HOA residents live in harmony with (or in relative ignorance of) their association’s rules and regulations. It’s not until conflict arises that people begin to examine and familiarize themselves with the laws…
Few amenities are as valued and beloved by residents as a private homeowners association’s swimming pool. But pools probably represent the single biggest insurance liability and maintenance expense for associations that have them. …
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,…