2014 March
Focus on... Exterior Maintenance

Real Estate Trends 2014 Market Review and Forecast
2014 March 2014 Market Review and Forecast

Chicagoans are a tough crowd. After all, it takes a hardened crew to be able to weather a Chicago winter that rivals its nickname as the Windy City. But while many neighborhoods are starting to bounce back after the recession, some a…

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Maintenance Keeping it Clean
2014 March Keeping it Clean

Living in a dense urban area like Chicagoland can be something of a dirty job. And the task of cleaning off months (or years) of accumulated grime and dirt from the exterior of a building takes much more than a scrub-brush and a bottle of …

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Maintenance Staying Ahead of Trouble
2014 March Staying Ahead of Trouble

Remember the old jingle, ‘it takes a licking and keeps on ticking’? It was the famous tagline from the Timex watch advertisements. The gist of the ad is that no matter what you threw at it, a Timex watch kept working. If you think ab…

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Maintenance Keeping the Sky from Falling
2014 March Keeping the Sky from Falling

Walk down any street in Chicago and you’re likely to go under or around one of the ubiquitous steel-and-plywood structures that shade the city’s sidewalks, more often than not festooned with wheat-pasted posters for everything from the hot…

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Management Pay Attention to the Details
2014 March Pay Attention to the Details

When it comes to work in, on, or around a residential building, there’s really no such thing as a small job. Whether a minor fix or a major capital improvement, there are a slew of factors that determine the success of a project, particula…

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Design Design for All
2014 March Design for All

Of all the responsibilities that come with being a board member or manager of a residential building, few are as important as ensuring the safety of your residents. Making and clearly communicating emergency plans, marking entrance/egress …

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Design Wilmette, Illinois
2014 March Wilmette, Illinois

It is the hometown of current mayor Rahm Emanuel, actor Rainn Wilson and actress Virginia Madsen. But with its 14 miles of brick-paved streets, circa1925 street lamps, a plethora of trees, a top notch school system and a sprawling lakefron…

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Q&A: Voting Privileges for Non-Owners
2014 March Q&A: Voting Privileges for Non-Owners

Q I am the vice president of a small condo community and we are trying to find out if non-homeowners can serve on the board. Several of the homeowners would like renters to have a proxy vote. However, being a proxy and voting for an absen…

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Q&A: Random Miscellaneous Fees
2014 March Q&A: Random Miscellaneous Fees

I was wondering if you had any information about whether a co-op management company is required by law to answer questions of random fees on a monthly statement. I've been struggling for 6 months with my management company and they 1) won't…

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