Category: Association Operations

Whether living in a crowded high-rise or a sprawling suburban community, when it comes to condos, co-ops and homeowners’ associations, safety is paramount. From management to the board to fellow residents, it falls to everyone to show conce…

It takes a lot of different tools and materials to keep multifamily buildings looking, smelling and functioning at their best. That means that maintenance crews, contractors, snow removal teams and other staff members must rely upon sometim…

Aside from yourself, who exactly may live in your condo or co-op unit? While you as the owner might believe you have the sole authority to make that decision, most (if not all) condominium and co-op properties today have policies spelled ou…

For many reasons, common-interest communities such as co-ops, condominiums, and HOAs prefer that the people living in the community’s units be the actual owners of those units – rather than renters, or subtenants, or relatives of the owners…

Can you imagine living in a building or association that doesn’t have a laundry room? These days, having on-site laundry facilities for residents isn’t an amenity – it’s a necessity, and keeping yours functional and well-maintained is just …

Everyone loves the turning of the seasons, what with leaves changing and snow falling and pools opening and the like. But Mother Nature has little concern for the comfort of humans, so fluctuating temperatures bring the need for residential…

Many residential properties obtain their power from a local energy supplier. But in recent years, boards and managing agents have investigated, and in some cases, installed “cogeneration” systems that allow properties to produce a portion o…

Ideally, cleaning products have one primary function: to make things less dirty. But once one delves deeper into the overall goal, things get more complicated. What makes something really clean? Does it just look shinier? Smell better? Or i…

Most folks know that turning off lights in unoccupied rooms, taking shorter showers, and turning down the thermostat a couple of degrees can help save energy – and by extension, money. However, helping an entire building or association cut …

*Editor's note:  In anticipation of Hurricane Irma's possible landfall in Florida later this week, The South Florida Cooperator is featuring a selection of past articles on storm preparation, emergency planning, and post-storm clean-up. Fl…