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The Bully ‘Round the Corner “Can't we all just get along?” - Rodney King Bullying is not just in playgrounds anymore. News journalists and condominium columnists report on it more and more often and condominium attorneys see it more and more often and condominium owners certainly are subject to...

Something to Think About “Education is not something you can finish.” - Isaac Asimov While many owners have large condominium units, say something around or above 1,000 square feet, many owners have much smaller ones, as little as 200-400 square feet. In such places, space is at a premium, and t...

The Monkey Lost “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. All too often attorneys only tell others about the cases they win. This column is about one I recently lost. Years ago, when I was a prosecutor, I tried a case with horrible facts. A...

The Sociopath Next Door1 “Hello Clarice.” - Hannibal Lecter There are more sociopaths surrounding us than we want to believe, including in your condominium association. The most commonly cited statistic is that one percent of the United States population is comprised of sociopaths. But about a do...

Legislative Update - Part III “Trying to run Congress without human relationships is like trying to run a car without motor oil. Should we be surprised when the thing freezes up?” - Jonathan Haidt Finally, as I noted two columns ago, pending once again in the Legislature is the yearly attempt to...

Condo Law Legislative Update - 2024 - Part II “You can lead man to Congress, but you can't make him think.” - Milton Berle Settle in and read on for thoughts on a couple of additional condominium bills making their way through the Legislature this season. House Bill 1357 seeks to require more...

Condo Law Legislative Update - 2024 - Part I Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” - Plato This year's slate of pending legislation includes an old, worn out retread, and some new ones. None have as yet passed and are in v...

The Package Problem “Time is money in the shipping business.” - Ander Crenshaw Something seemingly simple has become a problem. Package delivery. Since the pandemic hit, and Amazon took over the world, package delivery has become a booming business leading to some problems at condominium associa...

Forced Savings - For a Good Reason “The road to success is always under construction.” - Arnold Palmer It's budget season. That means you have to start worrying about next year. But one thing that should worry you, and which is directly related to your association's budget, is the fact that Fann...

An Appreciation “‘Thank you' is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” - Alice Walker This is my 200th condominium law column. (Who knew there was so much to write about?!) As such, I write to thank a number o...

A Hidden Danger “Insurance - an ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table.” - Ambrose Bierce I can't believe I haven't written about this until now. I spend a lot of time reading condomini...

Insurance Tips - Part II “Everyone lives by selling something.” - Robert Louis Stevenson Following up on the last column, there is the matter of your condominium association's insurance deductible. To be clear, you will never get from your insurance company all of the money needed to make the re...

A Charged Situation “Electric cars are the future.” - Albert II, Prince of Monaco One of the increasingly common conversations taking place at condominium associations is what to do about the increase in electric vehicles. Or, more accurately, what should a board of directors do about the reques...

Insurance Tips “Insurance - an ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable condition that he is beating the man who keeps the table.” - Ambrose Bierce Some may think the topic of insurance is dull, and perhaps to some it is, but it's also extremely i...

Alternative Short-Term Uses “Worst month of the Year: February. February has only 28 days in it, which means that if you rent an apartment, you are paying for three full days you don't get. Try to avoid Februarys whenever possible.” - Steven Rubenstein As I have discussed in the past, the New H...

Special Meetings “Meetings should have as few people as possible, but all the right people.” - Charles W. Scharf Let's say you disagree with a board's decision. It could be something as small as a $50.00 fine or something bigger such as not allowing a third car for your now driving child or perh...

Up In A Puff Of Smoke “When I retire I'm going to spend my evenings by the fireplace going through these boxes. There are things in there that ought to be burned.” - Richard M. Nixon Thanks very much to a reader (that's at least one) for reaching out about this issue. Likely the most overlooked ...

The Proper Reserve Study1 “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower Last time I explained why the need for a Reserve Study exists. This time, some ideas of what you should have in one. First, as a reminder, a res...

The Danger of Unplanned Costs “Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.” - Waren Buffet Most condominium associations, though certainly not all, have their annual meeting somewhere in the later fall. So, it's around this time boards of directors start looking ...

Case Law Update “If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.” - Louis D. Brandeis Here are some recent cases that I thought might be of interest. In Civic Association of Surrey Park v. Riegel, a case out of Delaware from November 30, 2022, Surrey Park fined the Ri...

Full Replacement Value Insurance - an ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table. - Ambrose Bierce Someone told me this is a bit boring. So, I apologize in advance, but it's important. One o...

The Hidden Danger “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” - Albert Einstein A recent item came to my attention that I thought I might share with you. E-bikes and e-scooters are becoming more and more common. If you haven't yet seen one in your condominium ass...

The Giving Season “For it is in the giving that we receive.” - Francis of Assisi I love Christmas. I really do. Sadly, it seems to be the only time of year when people are allowed to be nice to one another for no reason. You wish someone a Merry Christmas and they actually pause, light up a litt...

The Fairness of it All “Fairness is what justice really is.” - Potter Stewart There's a fairly well known adage in the law that notes, “You can't murder your parents and then ask the court for pity as an orphan.” The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in line with this adage ...

Snow Contractor Contracts “Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore then long enough.” - Earl Wilson It is inevitable that the leaves will all, the tree limbs become barren, the Halloween candy will have been eaten, Thanksgiving preparations made, leaving nothing l...