If you serve on your board, you already know the job can sometimes feel like a second career. One day you’re drafting the new budget, the next you’re dealing with Local Law inspections or mediating a conflict between residents. For a volunt…
When it comes to cleaning up bird waste at your property, it’s vitally important to take precautions to protect both custodial staff and residents from exposure to the allergens, pathogens, and parasites contained in droppings, feathers, an…
When it comes to animals we humans consider to be pests, insects and rodents are usually the first critters that come to mind. Roaches and rats are as much a part of metropolitan life as sidewalks and street noise—but they’re certainly not …
At the bedrock of a shared interest community, like a condo or HOA, is how and by whom the property is managed. While self-management may make the most economic sense for smaller communities, and there are certainly good examples of effecti…
When it comes to the planters and flowerbeds around your building or association, choosing the right annual and perennial plants to go in them isn’t quite as simple as you might think. There are many considerations to take into account, fro…
Over the past few decades, ideas and technologies for improving energy efficiency, reducing ecological impact, and providing additional amenities to residents in multifamily buildings have surged. Near the front of that pack has been the ‘g…
Most municipalities in the U.S. have laws on their books governing how exterior building façades must be inspected, maintained and repaired. While such legislation can be enacted at the state level, generally these laws are a local matter. …
Q. Can a current board member campaign for his re-election, or go around knocking on each door and telling owners who to vote for? Is this legal? —What’s Appropriate? A. “Yes and yes,” says Jonathan H. …
Q. We live in a co-op, and one of our neighbors seems to have a constant flow of different strangers entering and leaving their apartment while they are absent. I cannot imagine that the board knows this is going on, and our house rules d…
Keeping a building dry is both an interior and exterior challenge. All buildings, regardless of materials and construction, are at risk of water infiltration and moisture build-up in walls, ceilings, window wells and roof materials. This …