2014 April
Focus on... Landscaping & Lawn Care

Landscaping The Suburban Jungle
2014 April The Suburban Jungle

Many residents of New Jersey rightly believe that when it comes to climate, Jersey has it all. The compact, 8,800-square-mile state may only be 70 miles across at its widest point, but it is influenced by both wet and dry and hot and cold …

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Landscaping No Stone Unturned
2014 April No Stone Unturned

When most people think of landscaping, they think of shrubs, trees, meticulously laid-out and maintained flowerbeds, and artful plantings scattered around a building or development. Landscaping doesn’t end with growing things, however—and …

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Landscaping Not In My Front Yard!
2014 April Not In My Front Yard!

Whether you choose to live in a co-op, condo, or single-family home may impact your lifestyle even more than the style of the kitchen inside your place, or even how many bedrooms it contains. That’s because the type of home can signify the…

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Maintenance The Grass is Greener!
2014 April The Grass is Greener!

While it was a trying winter with more snow and ice than usual, there is always the promise of springtime and all it entails—blossoming trees, the return of singing birds and green grass. But just like the maintenance and care necessary to…

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Board Operations A Board Too Far
2014 April A Board Too Far

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…

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Finance Bank on It!
2014 April Bank on It!

The New York-New Jersey metropolitan area probably has more banks and other financial institutions than anyplace else in the country. Wall Street is located in Manhattan, after all, and several major banks are headquartered in the Garden S…

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Finance Keeping the Books
2014 April Keeping the Books

The New Jersey Cooperator’s Condo, HOA & Co-op Expo, a must-attend event for the Garden State’s property managers, board members, real estate professionals, shareholders and unit owners, will showcase nearly 250 exhibitors from throughout …

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Board Operations Homeowner Hassles
2014 April Homeowner Hassles

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…

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Board Operations Up for the Challenge
2014 April Up for the Challenge

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 …

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Maintenance Fence Me In
2014 April Fence Me In

Flanked by two major cities, New Jersey has just about every type of housing stock there is. Many suburban homeowners have dreams of that legendary white picket fence, but those who live in urban areas can also definitely appreciate the im…

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Board Operations Multifamily Storage Options
2014 April Multifamily Storage Options

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…

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Management Who Goes There?
2014 April Who Goes There?

While crime rates are steadily decreasing nationwide—even in the tri-state area—multifamily dwellings are often more difficult to 'police' due to the number of residents, visitors, delivery personnel and third party workers such as contrac…

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Neighborhoods Historic South Orange, New Jersey
2014 April Historic South Orange, New Jersey

It's the hometown of celebrated actors Kevin Spacey, Zach Braff and Andrew Shue. Singer and rapper Lauryn Hill and cartoonist Chris Brown were also born there and South Orange provided the formative years for sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, …

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Q&A Q&A: Smoked Out
2014 April Q&A: Smoked Out

Q I live above a daily cigar smoker, and particularly in the warmer months I like to leave my windows and balcony door open. I’ve complained several times to the board and management that the smoke is getting into my unit, my rug, my beds…

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Q&A Q&A: Notices and Fining Procedures
2014 April Q&A: Notices and Fining Procedures

Must notices of rule violations be sent by certified mail? Can they be sent via priority/tracking mail? Can they be sent by email? Must complaints by others to a rules committee always be placed on standardized form or can they be emails, t…

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