Buy a motor home and travel the country. Pay for grandson Johnny's college education. Fix up that old kitchen you've been complaining about for decades. These are things you've been wanting to do for years and years, but, though you've w…
Unexpected repairs are part of owning a home. For owners of single-family houses, the process is simple: Something needs fixing or replacing, and you call a contractor and get the work done. You may not be happy about it, but you accept …
Planning is the key to maintaining a balanced budget for co-op and condo associations. Knowing your budget, predicting expenses, even predicting the unpredictable are all vital components to having a sound bottom line and keeping your sh…
In a co-op or condo community, the responsibility of the homeowners association goes beyond setting house rules. The association also has a fiduciary responsibility to collect maintenance fees from its residents, create a budget to accou…
There are as many different kinds of co-op buildings, condo associations, and HOAs as there are people who live in them. Different types of communities often have very different ways of hammering out policy and directing their own day-to…
There is a common misconception that legal costs are fixed and that lawyers should be treated differently than other vendors who are subject to the rules and requirements of a competitive bid process. Not so, says James A. Judge, Esq., a…
Running a condo or co-op association is a lot like owning your own home, but on a much larger scale. Like with any home, needs for various repairs come up from time to time. But unlike an individual homeowner, development managers c…
When we think of product warranties, most of us think of the standard green registration cards that are found inside the box with the product alongside the operating instructions. We can register our new purchase by filling out the card …
It was comedian Jackie Mason who said," I have enough money to last me the rest of my life—unless I buy something." Mason was making a joke, but if your homeowners association isn't adept at managing its books, it might also be an unplea…
Aging is expensive—and that goes double for residential buildings. Exterior deterioration is inevitable, mechanical systems do not last forever, and everyday foot traffic and wear take their toll on even the sturdiest structures. For many c…