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Contacting the Contractors There are, generally, two types of contractors in condominium associations, those who charge a set fee for their work regardless of the amount of time they spend, such as landscapers and snow removal contractors, and those who charge by the hour, such as accountants an...

Reading is Fundamental in Your Association “You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for $1.50 in late fees at the public library.” - Will Hunting Reading is Fundamental is the largest non-profit children's literacy organization in the United States. My memory says when I was a kid, it...

Silly Condo Rules “If I studied all my life, I couldn't think up half the number of funny things passed in one session of Congress.” - Will Rogers A friend recently sent me an email with a picture his son took at a law conference of a bill introduced in theTexas House of Representatives to allow...

Condo Potpourri Here are a few tips/thoughts I've gathered over the past year that either are to small for an entire column, something I could not squeeze into another column, or something I've learned since then that I thought might be helpful. As a Board, never ask for a copy of a lease an o...

Executive Action No, this is not a column about Washington and the current President. Rather, it's about executive sessions in board of director meetings in condominium associations. The Condominium Act requires at least quarterly board of directors meetings that are open to all members. But e...

The History of Condominiums As a former high school social studies teacher, still the best and toughest job I've ever had, and after so many columns (thank you seacoastonline), I thought it long overdue to actually explain the history regarding where where condominiums originated.1 Let's start ...

Zombie Homes Last time I wrote about Ghost Owners, i.e. investors who rent out their condominium unit or owners who are away for long stretches of time. This time, it's about Zombie Homes, i.e. homes left vacant for long periods of time because of a foreclosure or more likely because an owner ha...

Ghost Owners Hopefully the title got your attention. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with spirits, real or imagined. Rather, it is a name within the industry for owners of condominium units who are either off-site owners who rent their unit or owners who leave their unit for extended periods...

Community Creation in a Condominium Community Here are some ideas for creating community in your community association. There are always some who will disparage such attempts. Let them know by doing such things, word gets out in the large community about what a wonderful place yours is in which ...

Kid Concerns in the Condo It's summer and kids are outside. And too many owners in too many condominium associations want them to go away. Not only is that too bad, it's illegal. The only way to get rid of kids is to have them grow up and, hopefully, move out. Until then they are allowed to be i...

Drones Update - Part II “You need to put drones under control; you need to lay out certain rules of engagement in order to prevent or minimize collateral casualties. It is extremely important.” - Vladimir Putin Following up on the last column, as with many things in life, with regard to Drones t...

Drones Update 2019 - Part I “How has the sky been transformed by drones? How has the ocean been transformed by the fact that over 90% of the world's information travels in underwater cables?” - Trevor Paglen, 2017 recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant who writes about, among other topics, mass su...

Cameras in Condos “I have as much privacy as a goldfish in a bowl.” Princess Margaret Guy buys a new car. Wants to make sure no one damages it, so he installs a camera in his home that looks out over the condominium association parking lot where his car is parked, and he turns it on from his hom...

A Dangerous Case In the many years I've been writing about condominiums, I can't remember ever having strongly suggested owners change their Declaration or Bylaws. This time I am. But in order to understand why, I need to take a step back and explain something. Generally, associations are requir...

There's a Buzz in the Air There was a case in the last year in California that did not take place at a condominium association, yet it might still be relevant to your New Hampshire condominium association. In Staats v. Vintner's Gold Club, LLC, Carolyn Staats was taking a golf lesson from an in...

The Duty of the Board aka The Morals of the Story “Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.” - Immanuel Kant “The board of directors shall have a fiduciary relationship to members of the unit owners' association.” RSA 356...

Principle Mistake A colleague sent me an article about a case in another state that I found nearly unbelievable, perhaps he perfect example of how not to live in a community association. Keep in mind condominium and homeowners associations are representative democracies. Owners democratically e...

Spring into Action It seems like winter is slowly but finally losing its grip on us. Soon birds will say hello, flowers will peak above the ground hoping it's safe to bloom, and cooped up people tired of bingeing on television and Netflix repeats may actually venture outside for a walk or to si...

Management in Times of Crisis “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure.” - Olde Proverb There are people who are calm in a crisis and there are a people who … are less calm. Let's hope your condominium association never suffers through a major crisis, but they do occur, so your associati...

The Short Version There are a number of short-term rentals such as Airbnb, VRBO “Vacation Rental By Owner) and HomeAway. I'm sure there are others. There are pros and cons and the discussion of whether to allow them in your condominium association frequently arises. They offer owners the abili...

Smoking at the Condo - A Cloudy Issue “Giving up smoking is easy … I've done it hundreds of times.” - Mark Twain Even smokers understand how terrible a habit it is. It smells; clothes smell; breath smells; it just stinks. But it's a hard habit to break. My Dad, who was a recovering alcoholic fo...

2019 Proposed Legislation - Part II Last time I wrote about a particularly silly piece of proposed legislation, one that lacked a needed touch of common sense, absent despite what were likely the best efforts of the legislators. What follows are some more that either were not particularly well t...

Proposed Condominium Legislation 2019 - Part I Well, here go again. For the fourth year in a row, the Legislature is proposing more changes to the Condominium Act. That in itself is not a bad thing as change can be, and frequently is, good. But let's take a look at a few of the proposed changes....

The Hidden Income Stream “The safest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it in your pocket.” – Kin Hubbard Who hasn't stooped over to pick up a quarter, a dime or even a penny once upon a time? Contrarily we may tip someone more than that person should likely get, or pay a littl...

The Little Things "New Year's Day now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.” - Mark Twain It's just about the New Year. That means time for a fresh look at things, like eating habits, exercise habits (or startin...