Whether a community is surrounded by suburbs or big-city high-rises, a little greenery can go a long way in adding visual appeal – and value. In fact, given the lack of space and the challenge of keeping plants healthy and thriving, urban g…
Like people, buildings age. Even under the best of circumstances, weather – particularly water, in the form of rain, snow, and ice – followed by or combined with extremes in temperature can do permanent damage to façades, cornices, parapets…
In light of the climate change crisis and its looming effects on our future lives, landscaping and gardening in both urban and suburban environments is changing and evolving. Those changes involve everything from the equipment and fertilize…
Spring has arrived, which is good news after what has felt to many like a particularly hostile winter. In a community association or multifamily building, spring also brings a number of seasonal maintenance and sprucing-up projects that can…
Living in a co-op, condo or community association can simplify a lot: maintenance issues that keep single-family homeowners up at night aren’t a concern for condo dwellers, and there may even be a door person or concierge to sign for packag…
After many years of expansion and growth nationwide, most co-op and condominium markets saw both turbulence and some overall decline in 2018. The market has turned from one favoring sellers to one more hospitable to buyers. Markets like sta…
Community associations are increasingly looking toward environmentally-friendly options to heat, cool and power their properties in order to reduce their carbon footprint and save money. Wind turbines, solar panels, combined heating and pow…
As community members, co-op and condo owners work together to maintain the greater structure in which they live – not just their individual units. Major systems – things like boilers, roofs, and façades – are expensive to maintain and repai…
Running a community association requires boards and managers to work with people from all walks of life, including those who have unique experiences, wants, needs, and challenges. That may also apply to people with behavioral or mental heal…
2018 – and the first half of 2019 – have been anything but dull, from the global level all the way down to co-op, condo and community association communities. While it’s somewhat beyond The New Jersey Cooperator’s scope to opine on geopolit…
Q. Our association in northwest New Jersey always (until now) had absentee ballots with names of candidates who have been nominated, plus a blank spot for the recipient to nominate. We also always had a spot on the actual ballot to nomina…
Q. We want to terminate a contract with a general contractor (GC). We have experienced payment issues with the GC since day one of a project. Every single pay application we send in, they manipulate without discussing with us, submit the …