At last, it's that time of year again! After its blockbuster debut last year, The Chicagoland Cooperator’s annual Condo, HOA & Co-op Expo is returning to the Navy Pier Convention Center in Chicago on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 from 10…
With the green movement in full swing across the country, it is not surprising that incorporating energy saving and improved efficiency measures has trickled into condominium development. Today, many buildings in the Chicagoland area p…
Going green doesn’t have anything to do with choosing a natural paint color for your kitchen, or planting herbs in your community garden. But the phrase can have many different meanings across a broad spectrum. Turning off lights in roo…
We as a culture produce a lot of trash—and not just in the form of reality television shows, late night infomercials and bad romance novels. Whether it’s the candy wrappers we toss into the trash bins outside on the sidewalk, the newspa…
Energy efficiency has become a “buzz word” over the past couple years throughout Chicagoland and more and more gadgets and devices have come on the market that are specifically designed to use less energy. Saving energy does a lot more …
As an attorney and an apartment dweller, Michelle F. has seen it all when it comes to living with difficult residents. “I lived next door to twin toddlers whose parents were both attorneys,” says Michelle, who in addition to being a real…
It is one of life’s eternal questions: is it possible to have too much of a good thing? That question certainly can apply to the matter of long-serving board members, those individuals who get elected and re-elected term after term. And…
Removing a multifamily community's trash and recyclables is an important job, especially in a private development that is not served by municipal or city-run sanitation services. And though it is crucial to their daily lives, most peopl…
For the most part, it's human nature to be somewhat fearful of change. People tend to stick with what they have and what they know, rather than explore new possibilities. That’s definitely the case with condos and co-ops in re…
In the tough environment that has characterized both the national and world economy over the past few years, many condo owners have faced job loss, reduced salaries, or just financial uncertainty. While the situation has made things ex…
Heating and cooling systems within condominium developments are called upon to provide safe, consistent energy to residents. The people who bring you heat, air cooling and refrigeration know that, and want to find what works—and what do…
Q We have a few units going into short sale and one of the unit owners mentioned she was interested in buying two of them. However, I was also told by one of the unit owners that a real estate agent was telling some of the owners that …
Q I am on the board in a condo community. We currently have a renter that was sneaked in by the owner. What is the proper way of addressing this? What is the proper way to remove the renter and can there be fines made to the owner? …