Few things illustrate the fragility of modern civilization more clearly than plumbing problems. A broken pipe, a backed-up toilet, a flooded bathroom—any one of these can quickly go from annoyance to emergency, and the longer a plumbing pr…

The rarely stated—but all too well understood—Murphy’s Law for Boilers—asserts that if your boiler quits working, it will do so on Christmas or New Year’s Eve, or at 4:45 p.m. on the coldest day of the year. With some planning, though, tha…

From the outside, the structure of a condo or co-op building may appear to be monolithic; just one big piece of brick and steel, punctuated with some glass here and there. That's an oversimplification, however. A multifamily building is pe…

Q My association is in the process of changing its bylaws. One such change pertains to check signing. Our current bylaws state that two board members' signatures are required for disbursement from any of the association's bank accounts. T…

Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey is a quiet suburban hamlet, known for its affluent residents, and its strange-sounding syllabic Native American Indian name. Well, most accounts anyway trace the origin of Ho-Ho-Kus to the Chihohokies Indian tri…

It only makes good business sense that if something goes wrong and needs fixing at a condo or co-op, the board or manager is going to do some due diligence to choose the correct contractor, and this is normally done by gathering bids. Afte…

Many if not most boards get along famously. There are boards that have had the same members for decades and run their communities without a hitch. We frequently get calls from readers who are troubled when they find that their board …

Many if not most boards get along famously. There are boards that have had the same members for decades and run their communities without a hitch. We frequently get calls from readers who are troubled when they find that their board …

In an urban or sprawling suburban environment, people can still feel isolated. While high-rise residential buildings and suburban subdivisions put many people and families in very close proximity to one another, living side-by-side doesn’t…

When electing board members to serve on behalf of your co-op, condo or HOA community, you expect them to be on their best behavior and think of the needs of the building and the people who live there when making their decisions. Regardless…