Category: Finance

2013 July Coping with Arrears By Keith Loria

 The foundation of any properly run co-op or condo building rests on residents  paying their monthly maintenance fees on time and in full, with no delays or  delinquencies. Unfortunately, because of the lingering effects of the Recession  …

2013 July Watch Your Language By George Leposky

 A major building rehabilitation for a large condominium community included  impact-resistant replacement windows, at a six-figure cost for materials alone.  The owners’ association advanced money to the contractor to buy the windows. When…

2013 February Letting it Slide... By J.M. Wilson

 It’s the same dilemma that single-family households across the U.S. are facing:  What bills need to be paid immediately and what bills can wait? And should we  stretch ourselves thin, taking more out of our bank accounts to pay for privat…

2012 December By the Book By Steven Cutler

 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…

2012 September Flush with Cash By Anne Childers

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…

2012 July Understanding Finances By Lisa Iannucci

For a crystal-clear picture of how an association is doing, there are few better lenses than the community's budgets and financial reports. From an investment perspective, they show the association board, property managers, the unit ow…

2012 July Pay Up! By Keith Loria

 In the tough economic environment that has hit our nation over the past few  years, many condo owners have faced job loss, pay cuts or just financial  uncertainty. Unfortunately, the signs of the times sometimes leads to an owner  not pay…

2012 July Cash-Strapped? By George Leposky

True story: a condominium community’s board of directors spent almost $50,000 in legal fees and court costs to evict a corpulent canine that exceeded the weight limit for residents’ dogs...by three whole pounds. In another comm…

2012 May Preparing for a Rainy Day By Jonathan Barnes

 Unless it's a thoughtful gift or a party in their honor, nobody likes surprises.  That's especially true when it comes to sudden, serious, or non-negotiable  repairs to a condo building or HOA. A community must have enough money saved to …

2011 July Prioritizing Projects By Lisa Iannucci

 When money is tight, consumers typically put away their credit cards and take  stock—cutting out non-essentials, such as dining out and luxurious vacations—to make ends meet. Strapped homeowners will limit their funds to emergency  repair…