2007 Aug
2007 August Vol. 5 No. 8
Focus on...Protecting our Community
Insurance Soup to Nuts
As downsizing Baby Boomers join first-time buyers in their initiation to condominium living, industry professionals say both groups have a lot to learn about condominium insurance. Read More
Fast, Convenient, and Possibly Dangerous
Technology has changed the way we communicate and the way we think about communicating. Cell phones, which didn't exist a decade ago, have become not just an addition but an appendage. No one, it seems, leaves their home (or office) without one. And does anyone even remember a time when E-mail didn't exist, or when we didn't devote a large (and increasing) amount of time to reading and responding to those messages? Read More
How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?
Imagine a perfect neighborhood: it's reminiscent of the neighborhoods of the 1950s. Warm, friendly faces, holiday parties, carpools, and unlocked doors are the norms. Such neighborhoods do exist today, but in modern times that perfect image is complicated by the fact that a couple of clicks on the Internet yield a map of your home surrounded by little dots that represent neighbors. And not just any neighbors—these are sex offenders. Welcome to the '00s—or reality—where those friendly people you have known for years are suddenly a danger to your children. Read More
Water, Water Everywhere...Revisited
In the fall of 1989, I delivered a presentation at the National Conference of Community Associations Institute in Dallas, Texas. My presentation was about why buildings leak. At that point in my career, I had been involved with thousands of industrial, commercial, and municipal properties but probably fewer than 100 condominiums. Fast forward to 2007 and, while the number of non-residential projects in our portfolio has grown steadily, the list of condominium properties is approaching 1,000 associations containing tens of thousands of homes Read More
Fair & Balanced
Let your imagination run a little wild. The kids are creating a nuisance at the condo pool this summer, so wouldn't it be popular to create an adults-only swim time? Read More
Market Meltdown
Much as the subprime mortgage market has dominated recent financial news, there is no readily agreed upon definition of the term. The most common description is the lender-given designation for borrowers with low credit scores (FICO score less than 620, for example), with little credit history and little documentation, and with other types of credit impairment. Read More
Avoid Asking, for Fear of Looking Stupid
I often work with the boards of directors of not-for-profit associations. Most of these groups include very sophisticated individual members who have day jobs that range from vice presidents of human resources to corporate lawyers to chairmen of banks. A few weeks ago, I was working to facilitate one board's annual strategic planning session. To prepare for the session, I reviewed the board's previous annual strategic plans and conducted in-depth interviews with each board member to identify areas of strategic priorities for the next yea Read More
