In the 1940s comedy, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House,a wealthy ad executive played by Cary Grant hires a famous bridge and tunnel engineer to look over his new house in the country; as it turns out, the "dream house" is more trouble…

Laying down the law in your building or association doesn't have to be a painful process. When it comes to creating house or community rules, careful planning and a healthy dose of common sense can make the process smooth, leading to hap…

Bills about pets, lead paint abatement and property tax reform are among the items currently being debated by the New Jersey Legislature that could affect the operations of condo boards and homeowner associations throughout the Garden St…

Every community association has a legal advisor. Next to the managing agent, this person is perhaps the most important professional that the board of directors and members interact with. Apart from going over day-to-day documents, forms,…

Transitions are subjective; a prospective homeowner puts a bid on a condo unit or townhouse, navigates the normal channels, and upon receiving approval looks forward to settling into his or her new home. There's a lot to do before that c…

Though it's famously said that all roads lead to Rome, the members of the Fort Lee, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce beg to differ. According to them, "There is an undisputed fact known throughout New Jersey: All roads lead to Fort Lee—The…

If you live in, manage, otherwise work for, or even regularly drive by a residential cooperative or condominium building, chances are you're familiar with Section 207 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Section 207 is the law tha…

Years ago, the only remedy for uneven sidewalks or foundations was what pros in the business call "rip-and-repour," which means tearing out the old pavement slab and pouring a new one—and spending a lot of time and money doing it. B…

Summer is coming, and with it the scorching hot weather our tri-state area is notorious for. Many buildings and homeowners associations, however, have swimming pools on-site that help take some of the bite out of the hotter months. Swimming…

The tri-state area was hit with another tough winter this year with heavy rain, snow and bitter temperatures. But now that the gloomy days have passed and the sun is shining again, it's time for condos and co-ops to get their recreational a…