2019 May
Focus on... Landscaping, Lawn Care & Curb Appeal/Expo

Landscaping Planning and Maintaining a Community Garden
2019 May Planning and Maintaining a Community Garden

Whether a community is surrounded by suburbs or big-city high-rises, a little greenery can go a long way in adding visual appeal – and value. In fact, given the lack of space and the challenge of keeping plants healthy and thriving, urban g…

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Landscaping Façade Restoration
2019 May Façade Restoration

Like people, buildings age. Even under the best of circumstances, weather – particularly water, in the form of rain, snow, and ice – followed by or combined with extremes in temperature can do permanent damage to façades, cornices, parapets…

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Landscaping Eco-Technology
2019 May Eco-Technology

In light of the climate change crisis and its looming effects on our future lives, landscaping and gardening in both urban and suburban environments is changing and evolving. Those changes involve everything from the equipment and fertilize…

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Landscaping Spring Maintenance
2019 May Spring Maintenance

Spring has arrived, which is good news after what has felt to many like a particularly hostile winter. In a community association or multifamily building, spring also brings a number of seasonal maintenance and sprucing-up projects that can…

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Board Operations Access to  Documents
2019 May Access to Documents

Living in a co-op, condo or community association can simplify a lot: maintenance issues that keep single-family homeowners up at night aren’t a concern for condo dwellers, and there may even be a door person or concierge to sign for packag…

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Real Estate Trends Market Survey
2019 May Market Survey

After many years of expansion and growth nationwide, most co-op and condominium markets saw both turbulence and some overall decline in 2018. The market has turned from one favoring sellers to one more hospitable to buyers. Markets like sta…

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Real Estate Trends Geothermal  Heating and Cooling
2019 May Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Community associations are increasingly looking toward environmentally-friendly options to heat, cool and power their properties in order to reduce their carbon footprint and save money. Wind turbines, solar panels, combined heating and pow…

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Finance Capital Reserve Funds
2019 May Capital Reserve Funds

As community members, co-op and condo owners work together to maintain the greater structure in which they live – not just their individual units. Major systems – things like boilers, roofs, and façades – are expensive to maintain and repai…

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Management Managing Mental Health Issues
2019 May Managing Mental Health Issues

Running a community association requires boards and managers to work with people from all walks of life, including those who have unique experiences, wants, needs, and challenges. That may also apply to people with behavioral or mental heal…

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Real Estate Trends What Does the Rest of 2019 Hold?
2019 May What Does the Rest of 2019 Hold?

2018 – and the first half of 2019 – have been anything but dull, from the global level all the way down to co-op, condo and community association communities. While it’s somewhat beyond The New Jersey Cooperator’s scope to opine on geopolit…

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Q&A Q&A: Absentee Ballots
2019 May Q&A: Absentee Ballots

Q. Our association in northwest New Jersey always (until now) had absentee ballots with names of candidates who have been nominated, plus a blank spot for the recipient to nominate. We also always had a spot on the actual ballot to nomina…

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Q&A Q&A: How to Fire a Contractor
2019 May Q&A: How to Fire a Contractor

Q. We want to terminate a contract with a general contractor (GC). We have experienced payment issues with the GC since day one of a project. Every single pay application we send in, they manipulate without discussing with us, submit the …

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