The most basic structure of our right to own and enjoy our homes emanates from two sources: legislation, and case law. At times, case law is the direct reflection of statutes passed by federal, state, and local levels of our government; at …
According to the Washington, DC-based online database, the Gun Violence Archive, a mass shooting is an incident in which four or more individuals are wounded or killed. In 2015 alone, the U.S. faced 372 such incidents, leaving 475 people de…
No one likes a lawsuit. Whether filing one or finding yourself on the receiving end of one, they can cause stress, anxiety and an upending of daily life. They can be expensive, take months—even years—to resolve, and often result in hurt fee…
Let’s imagine that your boss invites you to a group dinner to celebrate her recent promotion. At dinner, you have a tasty salad and one glass of the house red, but your colleagues all have multiple cocktails; somebody orders the surf-and-tu…
Whether you serve on the board of a co-op, condo or HOA, chances are you and your fellow community administrators are volunteers. Perhaps you're fortunate enough that you or one of your colleagues has professional legal expertise to bring t…
The legislative season is upon us, and in many states, bills specifically dealing with co-ops, condos and HOAs are wending their way through the legislative process. Even when bills aren't aimed directly at those forms of home ownership, ma…
Living in a building or association means living in a community where residents get to know each other, attend events together and, sometimes even become close friends. In most cases, the people you meet are regular, down-to-earth folks, bu…
The synopsis for the 2013 horror film The Purge is pretty extreme: in the future, society implements a 12-hour period called “the purge,” wherein any and all crime is legalized. Always wanted to vandalize your boss’s car? Thinking about sho…
Finding a good neighbor—it’s what we all hope for when we move into a new building or community. The same is true for commercial properties in residential buildings. Making a good match, one that benefits both the commercial tenants and un…
For co-ops, condos, and HOAs, insurance premiums are some of those quiet necessities that tend to fly under the budgetary radar until it is time to examine the bottom line, provoking a search for savings. Without a doubt, insurance e…