When it comes to stories about board members pushing their own pet projects, stalling meetings, and generally gumming up their HOA’s administrative works for selfish reasons, most property mangers have one or two doozies. Cons…
Here’s the scenario: the developer of your suburban building, who still owns enough units to throw his weight around, hires a property manager who plays fast and loose with the municipal tax codes. So much so in fact, that he winds up i…
If you’re looking for a parable for the indomitable spirit of America, the story of Red Bank fits the bill. This now thriving New Jersey borough has a rich—but not always rosy—past. Before the Red Bank International Film Festiv…
The state of New Jersey licenses or certifies practitioners of a wide range of professions, from doctors and plumbers to beauticians and irrigation contractors. Is the management of community associations a profession that requires lic…
Those who handle the management of any kind of residential building deal with contractors and contracts regularly—but they aren’t the only ones who should know about the process. It’s not necessarily an arcane topic—whether the project i…
When you live in a community association, you must abide by the rules that have been set. After all, condominiums are like little municipal governments; they collect fees, maintain the commonly-owned properties and set and enforce rules…
Consider the (fictional) couple, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. They love their co-op apartment in a comfortable, convenient neighborhood in Hoboken, and have lived there for the last seven years, moving in when Mr. Smith took an editing job with…
Nearly every day, pieces of legislation are introduced, debated, or voted on—both in Trenton and in Washington—that impact the administration of New Jersey’s HOAs. Keeping track of what passes into law (and then must be complied with) is…
Most of the time, condo and HOA residents live in harmony with (or in relative ignorance of) their association’s rules and regulations. It’s not until conflict arises that people begin to examine and familiarize themselves with the laws…
It’s a time-worn pattern that plays out in workplaces, classrooms, and residential buildings everywhere: rules are set, and enforced strictly for awhile. Over time however, enforcement wanes a little—the rules are bent, then broken. Even…