A cold, wet spring turned quickly into a hot, humid summer rife with thunderstorms and localized flooding. As autumn starts to paint the region’s foliage, community association boards and managers are looking at long-range forecasts and, i…
Any building in New Jersey that is taller than, say, five stories usually has an elevator—and often, new buildings of even three stories have an elevator. If you live in a high rise co-op or condo building on Palisade Avenue in Fort Lee, c…
Many co-op and condo buildings in New Jersey have a laundry room for residents to use that is more than just an amenity; it’s practically a necessity. Many of the co-op/condo laundry rooms are maintained by laundry contractors who servi…
It's a common enough story: the condominium was relatively new, but from the start its board of directors was stingy with maintenance and repair dollars. Then the recession struck, and the percentage of unpaid maintenance fees spiked. …
After years of wear and tear from the elements—or just the impact of a single catastrophic event like Superstorm Sandy this past fall—the siding on the exterior of a condo, co-op or townhome can start to look a bit under the weather. …
They say a house is only as strong as its foundation. A bad roof or shoddy plumbing can set your building back a lot of money, of course—but a foundation in disrepair can put the entire building structure at risk. It can also cost tens …
After the four walls of a given structure, the roof is sometimes referred to as the “fifth plane”—and just like the walls that hold it up, the roof is an all-important structure that can make or break a building’s performance. New Jerse…
Snow, ice, freezing, thawing, refreezing all take such a toll on New Jersey properties that it’s practically a cliché—but it’s a cliché that condo and HOA board members and managers have to deal with every spring. Harsh weather …
As we go about our busy lives, we often forget about everyday physical facts—like the unceasing tension gravity places on the materials we assemble into buildings and other structures, for example. Whether or not we are paying attention…