Many co-op and condo owners want to get involved in their community but they  soon find out that being on the board is no picnic. Soon neighbors are  pestering them asking for feuds to be settled, decisions that affect all  resident’s liv…

Nothing remained in the New Jersey townhome after the owner, exasperated and struggling, financially picked up and left. And took everything with him. “Not only did he walk away, but he gutted his house,” says Joseph J. Balzamo, a presid…

Few volunteer jobs are as big and involving as serving as a board member for a co-op or condo. In some cases, it means helping to run a multimillion-dollar corporation in one’s spare time. It means managing the place one lives—along wit…

Q We are a small, self-managed association that has a complicated problem that needs to be solved. The problem concerns the 25th garage and the association’s inability to obtain this particular garage. The original architect built 24 ga…

Q Is there a law allowing us to conduct a meeting without a quorum reached? We need more than 50 percent of the vote and certain shareholders refuse to attend meetings. We don't have a co-op board and cannot elect one. The old board mem…

 There is little or no question that secondhand smoke is a carcinogen which poses  a serious cancer risk and can cause other health problems to persons who are  exposed to it. Indeed the 2010 U.S. Surgeon General’s report states unequivoca…

 Heating and cooling systems within condominium developments are called upon to  provide safe, consistent energy to residents. The people who bring you heat,  air cooling and refrigeration know that, and want to find what works—and what do…

 “We have 500 condo accounts and I can count on one or two hands the number of the  ones that are not having issues with arrears,” reports Karen Sackstein, CPA, whose accounting firm, The Condo Queens, is based  in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. “…

New Jersey is one of the most diverse areas in the United States. Its proximity to two melting pot cities, New York and Philadelphia, only magnifies what is already a diverse mix of people. In any sizable community, people from…

For the most part, human nature is fearful of change, and that’s why people are more likely to stick with what they have and what they know, rather than explore new possibilities. That’s definitely the case with condos and co-o…