What the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac condo rules mean for buyers and boards

Public Mass shootings have unfortunately become common place in America and around the world. From schools and movie theaters, to businesses and homes, shootings have occurred in a mix of environments. But what should you do if you unexpectedly find yourself in the middle of this kind of emergency at your residential building?

As a Board member, you want your building’s lobby to be aesthetically pleasing and inviting, but also safe and functional – after all, as the hub of your building, it provides essential services and can even become a social gathering place for residents and guests.  So if your building lobby isn’t as attractive or functional as it could be – and doesn’t portray the impression you’d like it to – we have some suggestions that can help.

Is your homeowners association considering starting a recycling program for your community? If so, bravo! Take a look at some of the benefits: conserving energy, saving water, preserving resources, reducing air pollution and saving landfill space. And did you know that in addition to helping the environment, recycling can also provide economic benefits as well? To get you started, here are some tips and considerations to help your association plan and implement a successful recycling program for your community.

One of the most recent societal shifts has been a move towards a sharing economy – and if you’ve ever been driven home in an Uber car, or reserved a distinctive blue CitiBike for a few hours to pedal across town, you’ve experienced this practice first-hand.  In this article, we discuss how the quick growth of the sharing economy – particularly, home sharing – is impacting buildings in large cities, and we’ll follow up next week with valuable advice on how your Board or Strata council can address this mushrooming trend. 

There are many types, sizes and varieties of lifestyle communities to choose from, and as interest from homebuyers grows, developers and home builders are creating new ones to meet the demand.  If you’re a prospective buyer and don’t know where to begin, we can help.  We’ve compiled five important factors to consider to help you narrow down your choices and find the right lifestyle community to meet your needs.

So what can condo boards or community associations do to mitigate or even reduce costs this winter? Let’s start with what you can do in the summer and fall, before winter actually begins. This includes cleaning, tuning and performing any necessary repairs to heating systems, furnaces and boilers to make sure they won’t be working longer, harder or less efficiently than they should. Other pre-winter tasks include cleaning gutters to remove leaves and debris to ensure water can flow freely. Otherwise, water can become trapped and freeze, which can not only damage your property’s gutters, but also cause ice dams and possible roof leaks.

Quick, name a colorless, odorless, naturally-occurring gas that can be found in homes and buildings and pose a threat to our health and well-being. If you said “carbon monoxide,” you’re right. Now, can you name another?  If you had a bit of trouble coming up with “radon,” you’re not alone. Here is a basic overview of radon gas – what it is, where it’s found, its possible health effects and what you can do to protect your home and your family.

What’s your dream winter vacation?  According to recent statistics, when temperatures plunge, the four most popular vacation choices, in order, are beach vacations, sightseeing tours, casinos and ski trips.  But no matter whether you plan to pack your bathing suit, walking shoes, ski parka or lucky rabbit’s foot, there’s one thing that should always be part of your vacation planning – ensuring home protection while you’re away.

For many people, New Year’s Eve is the biggest party of the year.  But before you pop that champagne cork or put on your best party hat, think about your four-legged friends – and how your gala plans may affect them.  Fireworks and other noisy celebrations make many pets scared and anxious, and sadly, many shelters report an increase in lost dogs and cats this time of year.

For many of us, the holiday season can feel like a continuous run on a treadmill of work/shop/repeat – with a few parties and social engagements sprinkled in just to spice things up – and complicate your schedule.

Location, location…amenities?  As we told you in a previous article, the desirability of a community’s lifestyle amenities is becoming highly influential in driving the purchasing decision for many homebuyers.  To rise to the challenge – and set themselves apart from the competition – many developers, builders and community associations are adding the next generation of amenities to their lifestyle communities, high-rises, condo buildings and other residential properties. And it’s working. By adding and/or updating their amenities to reflect evolving tastes, communities are effectively meeting the aspirations and demands – and enhancing the lifestyles – of potential and existing homeowners.

Homebuyers are motivated to buy a new home and move to a new community for a wide variety of reasons – perhaps a desire to downsize, upsize, relocate closer to family and friends, or enhance their quality of life.  And when it comes to which new home and community to choose, there are nearly as many variables to consider, such as cost of living, location, layout and the quality of the community association and professional management company, to name a few.  But while those factors will always be important, there are two additional considerations that, for many people, are even more compelling – community amenities and programs for lifestyle communities.