Drones Are in the Air and in the News ? They Should Also Be on Board Agendas
When it comes to technology I am somewhat of a technophobe. I was a Blackberry holdout and I still read newspapers (the paper version) in my hand. So, not surprisingly, I hadn’t thought much about...
View ArticleInsuring Winter’s Woes: Dealing with the Problems of Ice Dams
The birds are chirping, the trees are plush and green, and the beaches are lined with people. The record-breaking winter of only a few months ago, when inch after inch of snow piled up in New England,...
View ArticleFiling Insurance Claims: Choosing Wisely Can Save Money
Boards and associations, just like individuals, carry insurance coverage to protect them from liability, loss and other financial and legal problems, although the issues may be a little different than...
View ArticleHomesharing and Insurance: What Your Board Should Know
Long before Airbnb became a household word, attorney Frank Flynn was dealing with condominium owners who thought that turning their units into a bed and breakfast was a great idea. “It’s a terrible...
View ArticleInsurance Decisions: How Much Coverage is Enough?
Earthquake insurance is very common in California, for obvious reasons—but what about in New England? Tremors may be rare here, but nonetheless, they do happen. And they can cause damage to...
View ArticleA Green New World: Encouraging Environmentally-Friendly Behavior in Your...
These days, as the summers get hotter, the storms get bigger, and climate change is finding its way into more headlines than ever before, more attention is being paid to the environment and how the...
View ArticlePower-Up with Co-Generation: A Look at our Next Generation’s Technology
The process of producing energy for metropolitan New England-area co-ops and condos has dramatically evolved in recent years, advancing to the point in which one energy professional has quipped, “The...
View ArticleEnergy-Saving Incentives: Taking Advantage, Saving Money
Trade-offs are a symptom of modern society, and we all find ourselves playing one zero-sum game or another. All the more reason to appreciate circumstances under which everyone wins, right? Enter the...
View ArticleYou Can’t Prevent Snow and Ice but You Can Manage the Liability Risks They...
Condominium residents, not unreasonably, expect parking lots to be plowed and walkways to be cleared of snow and ice. Boards that fail to deliver those expected services face not only the ire of...
View ArticleBest Boards Ever: Efficiency Breeds Success
Articles in this publication, seminars like those offered at the New England Condo Expo, and, of course, television news broadcasts, often focus on problems that face condo associations—legal issues,...
View ArticleUpholding Your Fiduciary Duty: Transparency is the Best Path for Boards
Being on the board of a co-op or condo is a big responsibility— one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. While some people may run for a board seat just to have the title, they need to be prepared to...
View ArticleArguments About Property Owners’ Success
If you base your judgment of property owners associations on SCOV opinions alone, it’d seem that they’re more trouble than they’re worth. I, for one, won’t be looking to buy anything in a subdivision...
View ArticleCondo Associations and HOAs: Distinctions Create Many Differences
I want to talk about the ABCs of community associations, or, more precisely, the CAs and HOAs, which can be confusing even to people who live in one of these communities. First the basics: Condominium...
View ArticleMaintaining a Healthy Building: How’s the Air in There?
It was January 1977 when the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) first identified and isolated a previously unknown strain of bacteria found breeding in the cooling tower of a hotel air conditioning...
View ArticleSecurity Technology: Keeping Buildings and Residents Safe
The most important aspect of managing a building is keeping it, its residents, and their property safe. In days past, ‘safety technology’ consisted mostly of well-lit exits, the installation of panic...
View ArticleDenying Access: Consequences for Arrears and Non-Payment
The synopsis for the 2013 horror film The Purge is pretty extreme: in the future, society implements a 12-hour period called “the purge,” wherein any and all crime is legalized. Always wanted to...
View ArticleCondo Inspections: Check Yourself
Condominium associations, whether housed in a single building or in a sprawling development, provide a reliably cozy and comfortable community in which to live. But this comfort requires vigilance on...
View ArticleBuilding Safety for Everyone: Emergency Preparation Includes Residents with...
New England is home to more than three million seniors age 60 and older, and about one in four suffers some type of physical impairment. When you factor in a climate prone to blizzards and heavy snow...
View ArticleFHFA Attacks Condominium Limited Priority Lien
The condominium “superlien” is under attack. That doesn’t overstate at all the concerted efforts now under way to revoke a measure that has been working well in many states for more than two decades....
View ArticleHUD’s Proposed Harassment Rule Would Be Painful for Condo Associations
The department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has offered that assurance for regulations the agency has proposed, clarifying the standards for assessing harassment claims under the Fair Housing...
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