Time was, a nice spacious condo unit with a good location, a decent view and several basic amenities like a laundry room, a doorman and a gym or pool were what Garden State buyers wanted when they went home-shopping. However, as more build…
Many aspects of the American work landscape have changed radically in the last two decades. As the service and information economies have overtaken manufacturing and other more traditional forms of labor, the old 9-to-5, office-bound workd…
The vast majority of condo and HOA residents are regular folks who wouldn't dream of disrupting life in their community by harassing their neighbors, bombarding their board and manager with endless complaints and threats, or filing lawsuit…
You may love your building. You may even love your neighbors and the members of your board. But there are few people who can say that they love their monthly board meetings or annual owner or shareholder meetings. That’s because these meet…
Finding the right balance of involvement between HOAs and condo boards and residents can be like maintaining a healthy relationship with a significant other—you want to be compassionate, responsive and attentive, but not too needy, nosy or…
There’s nothing worse than being a unit owner in a building and seeing someone disregard a rule and seemingly getting away with it—particularly if that person is a member of your homeowners association board. Sadly, this scenario isn't w…
An Extra Apartment Q I bought an apartment for my aging father in my building. He has since passed away and I've been renting out the apartment, with board approval. I am one of 3 or 4 people in the building who keep an extra apartm…
With natural disasters causing catastrophic property damages becoming more common, associations must be prepared for unexpected expenses, such as a major roof repair, or the installation of a new heating and cooling system. These major cap…
A cold, wet spring turned quickly into a hot, humid summer rife with thunderstorms and localized flooding. As autumn starts to paint the region’s foliage, community association boards and managers are looking at long-range forecasts and, i…
Any building in New Jersey that is taller than, say, five stories usually has an elevator—and often, new buildings of even three stories have an elevator. If you live in a high rise co-op or condo building on Palisade Avenue in Fort Lee, c…