Running a co-op, condo or HOA is a business, and like most businesses, proper budgeting is the key to financial health. Just like businesses, associations usually have two separate yet vitally important budgets. The first budget is the day…
With natural disasters causing catastrophic property damages becoming more common, associations must be prepared for unexpected expenses, such as a major roof repair, or the installation of a new heating and cooling system. These major cap…
These days, just about everyone is cutting back on spending, either to make ends meet, saving for something special or a rainy day, paying off debt or funding their retirement. Consumers are cutting coupons, looking for deals and keepin…
When you were a child, you probably tuned into the PBS show Mister Rogers Neighborhood, where a homespun sweater-clad Fred Rogers often sang “Won’t you be my neighbor?” Mr. Rogers might be singing a different tune today if he wer…
After nearly twelve years in office Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is poised to leave office on December 31st of this year. One of his last acts as mayor of immediate and possible long-term impact is adoption of a final budget for the upco…
If you want to find out about the history of a town, region or country, head to a museum or look it up on the Internet. If you want to find out about your family’s history, look at your photo album, whether it’s in a book or online. And…
The foundation of any properly run condo association or co-op building rests on residents paying their monthly maintenance fees on time and in full, with no delays or delinquencies. However, in the wake of the recession, with many shar…
While the vast majority of one-time projects and long-term service contracts involving vendors and service providers and their co-op, condominium or HOA clients go smoothly and either conclude or continue without incident, a small perc…
While natural disasters have impacted the United States for countless decades—from The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina—these catastrophic events are seemingly occurring with a more severe frequency. For…
Not everybody on a co-op or condo's board is an accountant (or can even balance their own checkbook, for that matter.) No doubt, handling large amounts of money for an entire building is a huge responsibility. Residents, therefore, rely…