According to most experts, current overall crime rates in America’s 30 largest cities are at historic lows. This crime data comes directly from local police departments in those cities – and while these figures are seen as a positive by law…

Education, awareness, and cooperation between management, boards, and residents can make a huge difference in deterring crime in and around a building. Some basic behavioral adjustments – making sure nobody follows you into the building wit…

Whether living in a crowded high-rise or a sprawling suburban community, when it comes to condos, co-ops and homeowners’ associations, safety is paramount. From management to the board to fellow residents, it falls to everyone to show conce…

It takes a lot of different tools and materials to keep multifamily buildings looking, smelling and functioning at their best. That means that maintenance crews, contractors, snow removal teams, and other staff members must rely upon someti…

Q. Say a shareholder spoke to the president and vice president of the board and disclosed his or her health condition. And later on, the president and vice president lost re-election to the board and found out that the shareholder did not…

Q. I live in a five-story condominium with 24 units, 24 “designated” parking spots, and six undesignated spots. “Designated” means that only the 24 people with parking tags can park in any one of the 24 designated spots (but the spots are…

Being a board member, manager, or maintenance staff member for a building or HOA obviously comes with numerous responsibilities. Chief among those is being ready and able to deal with risks, issues and hazards that pose potential threats to…

One of the most difficult issues for board members and residents of co-ops, condominiums and HOAs is that of arrearages. The problem poses practical, procedural and ethical issues, and can ultimately lead to legal repercussions. There are p…

For many reasons, common-interest communities such as co-ops, condominiums, and HOAs prefer that the people living in the community’s units be the actual owners of those units – rather than renters, or subtenants, or relatives of the owners…

Everyone loves the turning of the seasons, what with leaves changing and snow falling and pools opening and the like. But Mother Nature has little concern for the comfort of humans, so fluctuating temperatures bring the need for residential…