Q I own a condo unit and recently I asked to get a copy of my building's insurance policy. The board's management told me that they only give this information out when an owner is buying, selling or refinancing, none of which I am doing…
Fire in the home can be an absolutely terrifying and life-altering occurrence. In 2011, there were 1,389,500 fires reported in the United States. These fires caused 3,005 civilian deaths, 17,500 civilian injuries, and $11.7 billion in …
Glenn Curtis the aviation pioneer was quoted as saying, “All roads lead to Hialeah.” Centuries prior to this quote the Seminole and the Muskogee were already inhabiting the area. In fact, the city's name is most commo…
You may not realize it, but your building may be hemorrhaging money. Not in the form of disastrous lawsuits or maintenance crises like a collapsed roof or exploded boiler, but in a steady trickle coming from your method of ordering sup…
How can you tell whether the on-site property manager at a condominium or homeowners association community is doing a good job? And what is “a good job”? Whether a manager is well-liked and whether he or she manages well may not be the …
In a community association or HOA meeting, without procedural rules and organization, it’s amazing how quickly a room full of adults can devolve into a room full of toddlers—everyone talking over one another and no one listening, insuri…
While the basics of preventing—and surviving—common disasters like fires or severe weather events should be well known to anybody living in a community association or planned development, the reality is that each building community is e…
Media room, game room, common room, party room—regardless of what you call them, the purpose of these shared spaces in co-ops and condos is to give residents a place to gather; to hold an in-house meeting, throw a graduation party or sc…
Unless you have a degree in accounting, your first board meeting could come as a bit of a shock. You probably knew board members oversee the finances of your association but who knew there were so many records to produce and filing dea…
Whether you're in an urban high-rise or a sprawling suburban condo development, it can be hard for a new resident to get to know their neighbors. Do you strike up a conversation in the elevator or the laundry room, or hang around the b…