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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...

Christmas Gifts for Your Condo and Your Association We frequently spend a lot of time, effort and (far too much) money on gifts for friends, family, and loved ones. And that's a wonderful thing. But all too often, we forget about those right next to us in our community association. The littles...

Outside Responsibilities - Case Law Update Part II. In the last column I reviewed a case where an association was in trouble for not doing what it was supposed to be doing, i.e. properly funding the Reserve Fund. This works both ways, of course. Another recent case addressed a common mispercepti...

Condo Law Update - Reserves We like to think we're the center of the Universe in New Hampshire. Sadly, we're not. Rather, we are simply small municipalities in a small state in a small region of a large country. Among other things it also means we don't have a lot of case law in New Hampshire reg...

The Annual Meeting People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything Thomas Sowell It's that time of year again, leaves are changing, weather is changing, clothes are changing, all of which means its that time of year for one thing that doesn't change, the requirement for most condom...

Five Acres in the Woods “I get a choice every time I have to open my mouth: that it can be with civility and dignity and grace - or not.” Dana Perino This column is for all the boards, owners and management companies that have suffered abuse at the hands of silent keyboard strikers. It's a bit s...

The Parking Oasis “What's the deal with parking at the Special Olympics? Is it just the two spaces?” - Jerry Seinfeld You come home at the end of a long day, maybe even after a long commute. Tired of things like stop and go traffic and the person who almost hit you because s/he is looking at the...

Trash Versus Treasure Hoarding and Helping at the Condominium Association I was our jogging recently. (I used to call it running. I'm sure I don't go fast enough without a strong tailwind on a downhill slope to call it that anymore.) One such route passes by a home that has always been a bit of ...

Condo Law Changes - 2018 - Part II I'm fortunate to spend a fair amount of time meeting with owners reviewing updates to the Declaration and Bylaws, why changes should be made (old and out of date; illegal; not addressing changes in technology. Probably a good idea to strike from your documents...

Condo Law Changes - 2018 - Part II “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.”   Mark Twain The second change of significant importance to the New Hampshire Condominium Act had to do with transparency in voting at Association meetings. The Act has...

Condo Law Changes - 2018 - Part I When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.  PJ O'Rourke For the third year in a row, the Legislature has made changes to the Condominium Act. Rumor had it nothing was going to pass, but they snu...

Big Brother at the Condo For the most part, our community associations were established with a structure of one size fits all: mandatory association membership, legally binding governing documents, and common maintenance and funding obligations, all overseen by a volunteer board of directors wit...

Summer Thoughts A few random thoughts as the days get lazy, nights welcome us with spectacular sunsets, and the mornings greet us peacefully with a welcoming sun. Cyber Insurance. The more an association comes on line, with a website, emails and perhaps even tweets, the more it should consider a...