David Allen Stockman, former director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, may have had the federal budget in mind when he said that, "None of us really understands what's going on with all of these numbers." But he might just as…
Getting on a condo or co-op board requires a significant investment—both in time and sweat equity. As president of my co-op board, I can attest firsthand to the labors involved. Rarely does a day pass that I don't receive a call from a s…
There are many ways to lose talented, knowledgeable and caring volunteer officers from the board of community associations: Don't protect them from personal liability for the decisions they make by foregoing directors and officers l…
If laws weren't made to be broken, they at least need to be amended once in a while. As a community's residents change—and the world in general changes around the community—yesterday's rules and bylaws can become outdated or no longer su…
When you're a homeowner living in an association environment, it's a good bet that at some point during your residence you are going to take issue with something that a neighbor is doing—or vice versa. Whether it be something small like …
Unlike the ordered governance of cooperative corporations and condo associations in places like New York City, New Jersey's community and homeowner associations largely govern themselves, with little oversight from the state and no standard…
Throughout its 200-year history, the New Jersey Legislature as an institution has reinvented and adapted itself to provide for the needs and concerns of its citizens and constituents. For all the impact the state legislature has on ordin…
One of the jobs of a homeowners' association is to make sure there are rules for homeowners concerning maintenance issues, that these rules are spelled out, and that these rules are followed. And the great majority of unit owners realize…
Owning a condo or being a member of a homeowner association is a something many New Jersey residents know a thing or two about. In 2004, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) estimated that 970,000 existing co-ops and condos were so…
A giant shrub trimmed to resemble a stock car? Shutters painted an eye-shattering fuschia? Eight not-so-tiny reindeer blitzing across the roof? Some people's idea of design heaven is almost certainly someone else's idea of aesthetic purg…