Chicago is a city known far and wide for its harsh weather—and like its residents, Chicago's lawns are built to withstand the icy winter blasts off Lake Michigan. That doesn't mean that your condo or HOA's lawn doesn't need a little ten…
These days, money is tight for just about everybody, including the boards and managers trying to run the day-to-day business of their condo community or homeowners association. Everyone is looking to get maximum return on all expenditu…
Part of the job of a condo board is to keep your association’s grounds or lawn looking healthy and attractive. After all, curb appeal can do wonders when it comes to appraisals and even the morale of your community members. But most con…
One of the trickiest things in planning a budget for your building or HOA is the surprise maintenance problem or structural crisis that comes out of nowhere and depletes your community’s bank account. While you might be prepared for sno…
“I think that I shall never see / a poem so lovely as a tree.” – Joyce Kilmer, “Trees” Trees seem simple: You plant one, you wait a long time, then you admire its beauty—right? Though these steps are certainly part of the proce…
Coming in second is often derided as being, well, second-best, but when your town is voted the No. 2 best place to live in the entire nation by Money magazine—as Naperville was in 2006—second place is something to be extremely proud of.…
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…
The American Society of Landscape Architects—ASLA, for short—was founded in 1899 by eleven prominent landscape architects, among them John Charles Olmstead, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., and Downing Vaux, second-generation landscape archi…
Q I hired a contractor to do repairs in my condo and my building is accusing my contractor of damaging the door. My contractor is not aware of the damage and they have not told him anything. They told me when I hired the contractor …
Q May the unit owner provide a written delegation to the resident of his or her unit to act on his or her behalf with respect to the association, including serving on committees or being elected to office? —Concerned Unit …
Q I live in a 72-unit condo. We have major leaks in our building mostly around windows and air conditioner sleeves. The board hired an engineer that some unit owners heard from other buildings in the area to stay away from. The engi…
Q I live in a three-floor, four-room,30-unit condo, mostly 50-plus, with the only family with children (ages two and three) living on the third floor above me. For the past year there has been an excessive amount of constant running;…