Author and former presidential speechwriter James Humes once said, “The art of communication is the language of leadership.” In multifamily communities, transparent and open communication helps ensure smooth operations and leads to greater …
Q. Why are co-op board minutes so sparse that others who read them—shareholders, lawyers, brokers—have no real idea what goes on at meetings? This is because minutes are routinely ‘sanitized’ to leave out any troublesome issues, any comme…
The words communication and community share a common root. It comes as no surprise, then, that the success of communities depends on effective communication between board members, managers, and residents. In multifamily residential communit…
When the topic of exterior maintenance comes up, it’s important to keep in mind that when it comes to multifamily properties, even projects that focus on a building’s ‘envelope’ are by no means limited to just the façade or roof. Projects l…
The challenge of creating a sense of community during a pandemic is not something most people expected to face in their lifetime...but here we are. And while face-to-face communication is an essential part of daily life for most of us, we’v…
A few years ago, I was on the phone with a homeowner. He was irate with how his community’s money was being spent. He was unhappy with the budget increase. It was a call I took regularly from any one of my homeowners (and more often than no…
Q. I distribute copies of letters to our board president and all board members under their apartment doors in order to ensure that they all get one – and I don’t trust the chairwoman to distribute them. The board secretary does not wish t…
Q. I live in a New York City co-op and would like to understand exactly what the legal responsibilities of board members are. Our board has not posted board meeting minutes for a few years (although annual meeting minutes are distributed …
Every board is as different as the communities they serve; what works for a luxury high-rise on Park Avenue might not be such a good fit for a garden co-op in Queens, and vice versa. But no matter what kind of co-op or condo you call home, …
The board of a condominium, cooperative, or homeowners’ association literally exists to serve, and to represent residents’ best interests in the day-to-day business of the association. The relationship between the owner/shareholder and the …