Category: Association Operations

 Curb appeal provides that first impression, the attention-grabbing feature that  all condominium and co-op properties strive for. In Florida, curb appeal  usually starts with a little paint and a lot of native landscaping, plus some  dram…

In December 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the United States was in a recession that had started back in December 2007. The official announcement was old news for most Americans. Most financially…

 Almost every community is made up of people from a broad array of ethnic and  sociological backgrounds living in close proximity to each other. Managing a  co-op or condo that’s home to different people from different backgrounds can pose…

 Energy efficiency has become a “buzz word” over the past couple years in South Florida and more and more gadgets and  devices have come on the market that are specifically designed to use less  energy. Saving energy does a lot more than j…

We as a culture produce a lot of trash—and not just in the form of reality television shows, late night infomercials, and bad romance novels. We put the debris from our meals, our projects, our newly acquired goods and wares, and just a…

 Going green doesn’t have anything to do with choosing a natural paint color for your kitchen, or  planting a new bed of romaine lettuce in your community garden. But the phrase  can have many different meanings and can be done across a br…

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…

 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…