Category: Finance

Finance Tapping Reserves in a Time of Financial Hardship
Tapping Reserves in a Time of Financial Hardship

It’s a question we’re asked all the time: "Can we use reserves to cover an operating fund shortfall?" Under normal circumstances, our standard response would be an emphatic “No!” -- because reserves are for major repair and replacement proj…

Read More
Finance Keeping an Often Digital Paper Trail
Winter Keeping an Often Digital Paper Trail

It is essential that a community association keep thorough records of its financials, rules and regulations, meeting minutes, and so on. Not solely because the law often requires it—although following the law is certainly advisable—but also…

Read More
Finance Dealing With Code Violations
2015 July Dealing With Code Violations

Those of us without engineering degrees tend to take the buildings in which we live and work for granted. We simply assume that if we go indoors, the ceiling isn't going to suddenly collapse. Of course, buildings can remain upright and str…

Read More
Finance Don’t Raid the Cookie Jar
2015 July Don’t Raid the Cookie Jar

Sometimes the future seems like it’s an awfully long way away. If a roof is going to last 30 years, why should we worry about it today? Same with that shiny new air conditioner or that flat, crack-free pavement just poured two summers ago.…

Read More
Finance In The Black
2015 July In The Black

Taking care of a co-op or condo building’s budget and finances is a big job. Handling such large sums of money is an important responsibility, and not every shareholder or unit owner has the expertise to do the job well. Sure, most people …

Read More
Finance Money Talks
2015 July Money Talks

Imagine sitting down with your significant other to pay the monthly bills. You both put your checks into a joint account and know how much there is to take care of expenses, or so you think. Out of his wallet your husband pulls out receipt…

Read More
Finance Financial Firestorms
2014 July Financial Firestorms

In an upscale lakeside community near Orlando, the pace of home sales unaccountably accelerated in 2009. At first, the new owners paid their assessments and fees. Then some of the homes were rented to subtenants, and others changed hands a…

Read More
Finance Cutting Costs – Without Cutting Corners
2014 July Cutting Costs – Without Cutting Corners

As the 2012 federal legislative fiasco over the debt ceiling—as well as any number of other spending bills proposed since then—demonstrated, balancing a budget can be like pulling teeth. Balancing a condo or HOA community's budget can some…

Read More
Finance Budgeting and the Bottom Line
2014 July Budgeting and the Bottom Line

Preparing the annual budget is by no means an easy task. Those charged with preparing condominium or HOA budgets will soon begin reviewing costs, gathering data and projecting expenses for the coming year. Communities, businesses, individu…

Read More
1 2 Next