As buildings age, small and large maintenance issues arise, and HOA boards are called upon to address these situations. The questions frequently revolve around whether to use in-house staff or to hire an outside company to fix the prob…
It’s hard—if not impossible—to plan a budget for your association and stick to it, especially if maintenance problems and structural crises are constantly taking you by surprise and depleting your community’s bank account. Capital budge…
You may have a roof over your head—but if that roof isn’t doing its job, you may as well be living on the cold, wet street. Roofs serve as the first line of defense against whatever the skies throw at your development, so it’s …
New York City is often called “the concrete jungle” thanks to the thousands of square miles of pavement of all descriptions that cover the city, but New Jersey has its own acres and acres of concrete, and caring for all that is a huge j…
Edgar Dworsky is the treasurer of a small condo complex in Somerville, Massachusetts that was built back in 1987. He loves where he lives except for one rather large problem. Water leaks have plagued the complex since it was built. Dur…
Even cavemen knew that fire was dangerous—and they lived in flame-proof caves. But here in the 21st century, people blithely build roaring fires right in the middle of their furnished, wood-filled, carpeted, upholstered and bookcase-jam…
The simple mosquito, while small in stature, has been man’s most persistent and deadly foe. Millions die from malaria, yellow fever, West Nile virus and other mosquito-transferred pathogens every year. Why do mosquitoes bite? Unlike tick…
In recent years, being green has become more than just a trendy buzzword—for many Garden State HOAs, it’s now a way of life. More and more communities are adopting and implementing environmentally-sensitive policies, and intentionally us…
The vast majority of community association residents are normal folks who wouldn't dream of disrupting life in their building by being verbally abusive to neighbors, blowing up board members' phones and e-mail inboxes with endless comp…
Mom was right. Her admonition to “Turn out the lights when you leave the room!” is as valid today as it was a generation ago. And yet many co-op and condo buildings, while energy-conscious in so many ways, seem to feel it’s better to jus…