Q When I moved into my condo the bylaws said that vehicles are limited to standard motor cars (no boats, no trailers, no motor homes and no commercial vehicles). That was in 2004 and I have a pickup truck and my wife has a SUV. When we …
As the housing market in many parts of the country has floundered, many developers have taken creative approaches to stanch the outward flow of cash. In many markets, this means opting to convert portions of developments originally int…
The economy cratered—to use a term in popular parlance at that time—in September 2008, with the collapse of too-big-to-fail Lehman Brothers. While the measures undertaken by the federal government and the Federal Reserve averted complet…
Property managers handle a wide array of tasks, from the physical to the administrative. While many of these jobs are outlined in black and white (send out monthly bills, attend meetings, file paperwork), one important component is not…
This in an anxious time in which to sit on the board of directors. With defaults and foreclosures accounting for some 20 percent or more of the units at some condominiums, frustration among association members is off the charts. …
The Great Recession has required all boards and property managers to investigate new and progressive ways to ensure that their bottom line is covered. While this has always been the mission, the economic reality of recent years has ins…
As housing sales in the Chicagoland area remain stagnant, legislation both nationally and locally relating to property ownership and management continue to remain active. The majority of the legislation introduced recently has sought t…
There's no denying it: the housing bubble has definitely burst. And while there is still some speculation on how, when and why, most financial experts agree that the correction and balancing process has begun—though it will likely be lo…
Choosing the right property management company is a tedious but important task for any Board of Directors. The use of a Request For Proposal (RFP) process by a cooperative board will greatly enhance the selection of the most a…
Finding a new management company for your co-op community can be a daunting task—every building has its own personality, needs, and expectations, and the management field is crowded with prospective providers. In the search for the righ…