Prices of most co-ops and condominiums in the New York metropolitan area—which nowadays extends as far west as eastern Pennsylvania and as far south as the lower Jersey shore—have reached stratospheric proportions. In once-blighted urban…
Sue Stevens became president of her Arlington, Texas homeowners association in 2003, one of her first orders of duty was solving a vital security issue to the residents—how to protect their homes, which were highly visible from several m…
Just as no household can function without a good, sound budget, neither can a homeowner's association. Creating and maintaining a budget that can guide a condo community through an entire year's worth of finances is one of the most impor…
They say the only two inevitable things in life are death and taxes. Well, for condo and co-op owners you can add a third—maintenance fees. As long as roofs are going to have to be repaired, snow is going to have to be plowed, and g…
According to Hackensack city manager Steve Loiacono, his town is really going places."Real estate values are strong, business—and retail in particular—has been expanding and shows no sign of slowing," he says. "Unemployment is relatively…
Comedian George Carlin got it right—all we want is a little space for our stuff. Ample storage space is a precious commodity, and residents are often left on their own to invent creative ways to store bikes, sports equipment, holiday dec…
Homeowners associations are governed by a private board, generally comprised of residents of the condominium. Just because board members are unpaid volunteers, however, does not exempt them from exposure to lawsuits. Indeed, HOA board me…
In most cases, New Jersey's community and homeowner associations largely govern themselves, with little oversight from the state and no standardized procedures or best practices. But recently there has been some movement from the powers …
While a condominium owner owns his unit, and a shareholder in a cooperative owns shares of a corporation, there are a lot of aspects of their living situations that they can't control. If the elevator doesn't work, or the grass isn't bei…
For most people, the thought of legal fees and litigation costs are enough to cause heightened anxiety and maybe a heart palpitation or two. Consider that same scenario when it comes to board members in charge of the well-being of an ent…