The 14th Street Townhomes, a 36-unit Pompano Beach condominium built in 1991, doesn’t have a vast expanse of grass. It occupies less than five acres of land, yet in 2008 it began saving 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of drinking water a year b…

 Mark your calendars! The date for The South Florida Cooperator’s first annual South Florida Condo, HOA, & Co-op Expo, is fast approaching. This year’s innaugural event will be held at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County  Convention…

Q Our condominium association gives out gifts (in monetary form) to the  association employees that work in our building. Gifts are made to the board president, who sets up a separate bank account, and  then decides how the money given sh…

Q I've had a long existing leak in my full bathroom since the shareholders above  me have moved in. It so happens that the shareholder's son runs a bath for as  long as two hours at a time, blasting the water full force. Over time this ha…

 Noise is a key quality-of-life problem for almost anyone living in a  densely-packed urban environment. It's the bane of many a condo-dweller’s existence, and over the years engineers, architects, and designers have tried  any number of w…

 Among the many perils experienced by Floridians during the blackouts and  hurricanes that swept the state in the middle of the last decade,  non-functioning emergency systems in condominium buildings were a major  problem.    As a …

 When you serve on a board, sometimes you get a feeling of empowerment. After  all, you bear a great deal of responsibility for how well (or how poorly) your  building or HOA fares during your tenure. However, it’s important not to let tha…

 Remember your first day at a new school? Most likely, you didn’t know a soul, had no idea what the students were learning and you probably felt  nervous, intimidated or maybe even afraid. In most cases, this is what it’s like to be a new …

 Legendary funny man Benny Goodman once said, “I don’t want to tell you how much insurance I carry with the Prudential, but all I can  say is: when I go, they go too!” The comedian hits on all-important issue: how much insurance is too muc…

 Insurance is designed to be there for us when we need it most. Without knowing  the full extent of our coverage, though, we may find ourselves with less  protection than we thought. For condominium owners, it is imperative to  understand …