Everyone would love to believe their HOA or condo association 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 association or HOA, yo…
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…
While keeping the records of the association is not the most fascinating part of serving on a board, it is in some ways the most important. In fact, the flow of paperwork is the lifeblood of the community. The Articles of Incorporati…
It only takes a few minutes of Googling to uncover the traits that make a successful person or business owner. For example, Entrepreneur magazine’s Steven Key wrote the article, “5 Qualities of Successful Persons,” which included such trai…
The word community, like many words in the English language, has more than one interpretation. A community can be identified as a geographical location—a physical infrastructure of streets, parks and buildings, defined by tangible brick an…
Parking is a big deal in pretty much any urban area. Not only is it limited, but it’s often incredibly expensive to boot. Given the hot commodity that parking spaces represent in denser, high-demand neighborhoods and municipalities, it’s no…
Olivia Pope, the main character on ABC’s Scandal, is a professional fixer. If you have a problem—any problem—she can fix it. Over the past two seasons plus, she’s rigged elections, covered up murders, employed professional hit men, exposed…
As jugglers of multiple and oftentimes complex tasks, association managers must be adept at mediating between board members and unit owners, as well as resolving all manner of maintenance and legal issues. To this end, association managers…
Whether a building is a luxury high-rise with an in-house movie theater, rooftop pool, and climate-controlled wine cellar, or a much more modest low-rise or townhome community with a simple community room or gazebo, managing common ameniti…
Whether change is good or bad often depends on who you talk to; even a welcome change produces a certain level of stress and adjustment. Personal changes are challenging enough, but for community association residents, a board decision to …