When you close your eyes and picture any building, you are quite likely imagining its facade – the outer shell which protects and contains all of the hustle and bustle that goes on within. In a residential property, the facade is what separ…
Home is where the heart is, sure – but it’s also where most of any given owner or shareholder’s money is. For most people, their home represents their single biggest investment. And in a community association, both individual units and the…
Whether it’s a balcony, terrace, patio or roof deck, outdoor space is many an apartment owner’s dream. Desirable – and valuable – as they are, these spaces do present specific maintenance considerations for individual owners, co-op corpora…
Cities are crowded. That’s a simple fact. In the best of circumstances, there’s noise, dirt, dust, and the usual urban pests. Add to that the construction of a new building next to or nearby yours, and annoyance can quickly become overwhelm…
Do you remember when you were a kid that the closest thing you had to a cell phone at the time was two cups with a string tautly attached between them, and then speaking into one cup to see if your friend holding the other could hear you? T…
The invention and adaptation of vertical transportation – otherwise known as the elevator – in the 1850s changed the face of architecture, space design, and apartment living forever. Unfortunately, like any mechanical system, every so often…
Whether you live in a high-rise building or a spread-out condo association, you probably take having reliable, adequate heat in the winter months for granted. But heating a multifamily community is not so easy as simply turning a dial. Ther…
Real estate lore has its share of stories about merciless, if not downright unscrupulous, city inspectors popping in on unaware building owners, conducting unscheduled examinations of all types, and sometimes even demanding payoffs in excha…
‘Home sweet home’ can become un-sweet very quickly indeed when the physical environment you’ve worked hard to create becomes a source of environmental toxicity. Chemicals, smoke, pet dander, and mold — along with other allergens and irritan…
In uncertain political and economic times, a condominium, cooperative or homeowners’ association may instinctively want to pinch pennies when it can, especially when it comes to relatively minor maintenance projects. If an association has i…