Do you have an elephant in the living room? That is a way to describe something that everyone knows about, but nobody talks about because it is too awkward. Community association budgets, and particularly reserve contributions and disc…
As buildings age, small and large maintenance issues arise, and HOA boards are called upon to address these situations. The questions frequently revolve around whether to use in-house staff or to hire an outside company to fix the prob…
It’s hard—if not impossible—to plan a budget for your association and stick to it, especially if maintenance problems and structural crises are constantly taking you by surprise and depleting your community’s bank account. Capital budge…
You may have a roof over your head—but if that roof isn’t doing its job, you may as well be living on the cold, wet street. Roofs serve as the first line of defense against whatever the skies throw at your development, so it’s …
New York City is often called “the concrete jungle” thanks to the thousands of square miles of pavement of all descriptions that cover the city, but New Jersey has its own acres and acres of concrete, and caring for all that is a huge j…
Edgar Dworsky is the treasurer of a small condo complex in Somerville, Massachusetts that was built back in 1987. He loves where he lives except for one rather large problem. Water leaks have plagued the complex since it was built. Dur…
Even cavemen knew that fire was dangerous—and they lived in flame-proof caves. But here in the 21st century, people blithely build roaring fires right in the middle of their furnished, wood-filled, carpeted, upholstered and bookcase-jam…
Q We have a condo board which allegedly ignores, breaks, and applies bylaws inconsistently. They also make up bylaws, have not monitored our insurance policies for at least two years and have not taken action on a couple of safety i…
Q Is there an upper limit to how much money can be accumulated in the reserve account to avoid income taxes? —Financially Inquisitive A “The quick answer is no,” says Annette Murray, a CPA with accounting fir…
New Jerseyans have the most of everything. The highest population density, the densest system of highways and railroads, the most major shopping malls in a 25-mile radius, the most TV reality shows, and even the highest concentration o…