One of the unique things that sets co-op, condo and HOA living apart from living in a single-family home, or even a rental, is the buyer’s choice to live in a community-within-a-community. By purchasing a unit in a particular building or de…
There’s an old adage that ‘insurance is for pessimists’ — but that’s very much not the case. In the world of home ownership, and especially in shared communities, proper insurance is a critical factor in protecting not only your most import…
Insurance can seem like a mundane administrative afterthought — right up to the moment you need coverage. In a community association, just because a responsible board handles the lion’s share of maintaining the policy covering common areas …
While most of us make do with just the one home, some are lucky enough to be able to escape less-than-favorable weather for second (or even third) homes in greener pastures. But while these fortunate folks winter in, say, the Florida Keys, …
Whether it’s a renovation, an emergency repair, or anything in-between, condos, cooperatives, and homeowners’ associations are rarely not spending money on something. And while they may have reserves on hand to pay for its latest project, m…
There is a natural inclination in business to work with those whom you know and trust. Relying on relationships that have developed over time is just a common-sense way to ensure a fair deal from a competent vendor who will perform their jo…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 represents the first major restructuring of federal income taxes since 1986, and ushers in serious changes to how co-op, condo and HOA owners will benefit from home ownership. In many cases, the new law wil…
Perhaps more than any other profession within the co-op and condominium industry, managers experience the most frequent real-time challenges. Those challenges require managers to stay up-to-date with the latest innovations in the field – no…
In uncertain political and economic times, a condominium, cooperative or homeowners’ association may instinctively want to pinch pennies when it can, especially when it comes to relatively minor maintenance projects. If an association has i…
Architecture and design have changed a lot over the years. Considerations for ‘what-goes-where,’ are very different now than say, back in the Roaring Twenties, when so much of the region’s housing stock – and hence a large proportion of tod…