2011 April
Focus on... Exterior Maintenance

Don't be fooled by the scenery; property management in Florida is not a day at the beach. While managers in Boston or Chicago may look longingly at their colleagues' sunny southern properties, the overall job description doesn’t really …

 The role of the building superintendent or chief engineer for a condo or co-op  will often vary by property and location. Nowhere is that more evident than in  Florida, the Sunshine State, the land of “55-plus communities” and a retiree’s…

 During a live National Public Radio interview, much to the consternation of the  announcer and engineer, Gil Oren spray-painted a window between the recording  studio and the control room.    Oren is chief operating officer of Miam…

 Pressured by community association advocates throughout the Sunshine State, the  Florida Legislature backed off a proposed bill (HB 5005) that would have  eliminated licensing for community association managers and deregulated the  indust…

 Often when we think of the “good old days,” thoughts of a time before cell phones, Facebook and GPS come to mind, when kids  played in public parks stocked with swing sets, monkey bars and maybe (if you  were lucky) a basketball hoop and …

 The most important contribution that professional management can make to a  client property and its owners is the protection and enhancement of the  property’s quality of life and its investment value. It is from these primary fiduciary o…

Q How about a board president who creates a landscape contract specifically designed for his brother-in-law so that no other company can bid on it? The cost is a difference overpayment of $13,000 a year. This president also states …

Q Can a proxy only vote or are they allowed to take part in any discussion or offer opinions? —Vocal Voter A “For condominium associations in Florida,” says Roberto C. Blanch, a partner in the Coral Gables-based l…

Q The board has just implemented a new ban on smoking. However, they have indicated that those shareholders who smoke and were shareholders prior to the effective date will still be allowed to smoke in their own units, but not on t…