You can’t underestimate the value of insurance. In a simple analogy, operating a business—or the day-to-day business of a co-op or condo—without adequate insurance coverage is a lot like skydiving without a parachute. Needless to say, it’s…
Say you’re in bed, and you hear what sounds like the shower going. It's late, and you're tired, so you pay it no mind. You wake up at 4 a.m. to get a glass of water and find half the rooms in your apartment flooded— you forgot to turn the …
Individuals, associations and other entities carry insurance coverage to protect them from liability, loss, and other financial and legal threats—that's pretty basic. What isn't always so basic is deciding when to file a claim versus payin…
Sometimes insurance and the terms that accompany it can feel like a completely foreign language. It can be mystifying and overwhelming, whether for individual condo residents or the board members who oversee the community as a whole. The i…
When is a flood not a flood? That’s a serious question for the Garden State's residential communities. Even if they have flood insurance, damage caused by heavy rains and backed-up sewers may not meet the National Flood Insurance Program (…
Homeowners associations and co-ops alike are governed by a set of specific documents that lay out the administrative structure of the community, its rules and regulations, and protocols for decision-making. The certificate of incorporation…
The perks of living in the Garden State are obvious to anyone reading these pages, and won’t be listed here. But there is one glaring drawback to living in a densely populated metropolitan area: lack of space. We all have winter coats we d…
Seeing the positive in life is a wonderful thing, but when you’re a manager at a co-op or condo, regardless of its size or how civil and well-mannered shareholders and owners can be, there will always be situations that arise that need to …
Everyone would love to believe their HOA or condo building is a miniature utopia where everyone gets along and disagreements are well-nigh unheard of. Of course, if you have ever actually lived in a condo or HOA, you know that’s definitely…
Having apathetic leadership is a problem in some buildings, though a board that oversteps the boundaries of its power or invades the privacy of residents also can be a headache. An informed board, however, should be less apt to go beyond i…