The job of a co-op or condo board member seems pretty straightforward: have meetings, take votes on this or that item of business, approve checks, keep an eye on the budget, and so forth. That’s the administrative part of the …
Board members find themselves acting as referees so often, some may feel like they're wearing black-and-white striped shirts. Maybe they're mired in the middle of a conflict between homeowners because one group of gardening enthusiasts…
That being said, there are times when information can and should be more tightly controlled, and when non-board shareholders actually don't have the legal right to certain information. Knowing when to include and when to exclud…
The sitting president of a Connecticut condo board recently approached the property manager with a proposition: If he saw to it that her contractor boyfriend was awarded certain jobs in the building, the property manager would receive …
Q What are the rules concerning how many proxies any one person can submit? Also, does a person submitting proxies have to be a unit owner? Or even live in the complex? We have a situation where a renter, not owner, of a co-op collects…
The simple mosquito, while small in stature, has been man’s most persistent and deadly foe. Millions die from malaria, yellow fever, West Nile virus and other mosquito-transferred pathogens every year. Why do mosquitoes bite? Unlike tick…
In recent years, being green has become more than just a trendy buzzword—for many Garden State HOAs, it’s now a way of life. More and more communities are adopting and implementing environmentally-sensitive policies, and intentionally us…
The vast majority of community association residents are normal folks who wouldn't dream of disrupting life in their building by being verbally abusive to neighbors, blowing up board members' phones and e-mail inboxes with endless comp…
Mom was right. Her admonition to “Turn out the lights when you leave the room!” is as valid today as it was a generation ago. And yet many co-op and condo buildings, while energy-conscious in so many ways, seem to feel it’s better to jus…
Lighting in the U.S. alone accounts for approximately 22 percent of all electricity used, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. It is no wonder that in the current economic and environmentally-sensitive climate a lot of effort is…