Q. My upstairs neighbor has a one-year-old toddler who's constantly running at all hours. In fact, he's running around right now and it’s not even 9:00 a.m. on a Sunday. When I come home on weeknights -- whether it's 7:30, 8:30 or 9:30 --…
People feel ‘harassed’ all the time – by crowded trains, loud noises, and even the weather. Co-op and condo residents often feel that their board, or even a neighbor, is ‘harassing’ them. But what qualifies as harassment in the legal sense?…
In today’s litigious society, lawsuits are an unpleasant fact of life. Everyone has a gripe – and that gripe can often result in legal action. The questions are: how is your cooperative corporation, condominium association, or HOA protected…
Lawsuits are both expensive and time consuming. It might be said that the only real winners in a civil suit are the lawyers. They get paid by the hour, and often in cases of negligence, they receive a substantial portion of the award or se…
One of the most difficult issues for board members and residents of co-ops, condominiums and HOAs is that of arrearages. The problem poses practical, procedural and ethical issues, and can ultimately lead to legal repercussions. There are p…
Here’s a scenario: It’s mid-December. The board has assembled for their last meeting of the year. The managing agent brings great news: due to several unforeseen factors, including the past year’s mild winter and savings resulting from c…
Q. Can a board member who has served on one board for many years serve on another board that is in the same HOA association? I don’t want to cause a problem with this member, but it does mean they would be casting votes on two associatio…
Co-op, condo and HOA living represents a unique social arrangement; it’s a paid-for membership club and a home at the same time. Many people enter into this arrangement without a complete understanding of the responsibilities of membership.…
Murphy’s Law says, “Whatever can go wrong, will,” and as we all know, stuff happens. When it does, no matter what the specifics of a situation might be, we generally don’t want to end up in court; it’s time consuming, expensive, and has a w…
Oftentimes co-op, condo and HOA boards are faced with difficult choices when it comes to enforcing their community’s rules and regulations. Board service isn’t an easy thing, and while board members want to be understanding of their fellow …