After receiving over 4,200 comments on a proposal that would have eliminated flip taxes and transfer fees in co-ops, condos and HOA communities, the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) has reconsidered its position and will allow …
According to U.S. Small Business Administration statistics, over half of all small businesses begun in the last decade have been home-based—that's more than 24 million in real numbers—with a new home-based business being launched every 1…
Q I live in Newark and I just bought a two-family home in a condo. However, when the developer built these, he was the actual association and then along the years with all the mortgage defaults, things got a little off and the condo has…
Drawing up a contract for management services looks at first glance like a simple task. Such contracts usually follow a particular format and outline services for condos, townhomes and co-ops regardless of size. But what about contract…
Do you have an elephant in the living room? That is a way to describe something that everyone knows about, but nobody talks about because it is too awkward. Community association budgets, and particularly reserve contributions and disc…
Board members find themselves acting as referees so often, some may feel like they're wearing black-and-white striped shirts. Maybe they're mired in the middle of a conflict between homeowners because one group of gardening enthusiasts…
For any condominium or community association, there are certain types of insurance that HOAs cannot live without. Generally those include: property, liability, umbrella, D&O (with employment practices liability (EPL) insurance embedded …
Q Can a condo board legally prohibit any political activity by its residents? Most condo documents say that “the association shall not engage in any political activity.” The board usually interprets it to mean that there shall be no p…
In today’s economic climate, budget woes abound and pretty much dominate the legislative landscape in New Jersey and elsewhere. With Republican Governor Chris Christie trying to stem the tide of a monumental $10.7 billion budget deficit…
Lawsuits are an unfortunate, expensive fact of life these days—chances are that at some point in your lifetime you’ll be involved in one to at least some degree. In you live in a condo or HOA, legal issues arise all the time. Sometimes i…