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…
Even in the most well-run, harmonious building or association, problems occasionally arise. Sometimes it’s a truculent resident who seems determined to alienate and annoy everybody within a half-mile radius, sometimes it’s a managing ag…
When it comes to running a building or community association, all board members are not created equal—at least not when it comes to administrative ability and skill. Some bring experience in construction or backgrounds in law, finance, …
Every co-op or condo has rules and regulations that have been put in place to define the board’s authority and limitations of power, as well as outline the rules for the community, residents or shareholders. And although the governing d…
Turn on daytime television and you might get a false impression that people like to go before a judge to work out their differences. There are so many cookie-cutter court shows like where they make the process look simple and quick. Th…
Remember Stanley Roper from the 1970’s sitcom Three’s Company? To some, he might still be their idea of a property manager—the upstairs landlord or the guy you’d call when your plumbing’s on the fritz. And indeed, when the plumbing in you…