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Is your building or community considering establishing a Neighborhood Watch program? These crime watch programs – joint efforts between homeowners and local police departments – are gaining traction in many communities by helping to deter unusual or criminal behavior. Here are some tips to consider.

Poisoning is the leading cause of death from injury in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. But fortunately, poisonings are also highly preventable.

As a parent, you know what back to school means. It’s more than a change in your schedule -- it’s a change in your whole reality. Rushing out the door. Blasting through the homework. Making second trips back to the house for forgotten lunch boxes, book order money or scarves.

You’ve heard the horror stories. The homeowner association (HOA) board hires a contractor to remodel the clubhouse, the fitness room, or one of the other amenities within the community. The contractor talks a good game, but when the actual work begins, it’s a whole other story.

Creating and executing a comprehensive building maintenance plan for your high-rise community should be a top priority for your board and property management company.

Learn how associates and residents are making a difference in their communities, providing grocery delivery and food delivery, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Somehow, in the blink of an eye, your sweet and cuddly baby has turned into an active and independent toddler – curious about everything and always on the move. She’s outgrown her crib and baby furniture, and now that she can speak up, she’s quite vocal about her desire to change the nursery into a big kid’s room – and has some definite ideas about how to get there. We know you may not agree with her tastes – or how much they might cost to implement – so here are six budget-friendly, easy-to-do tips to transform your nursery into a toddler’s room the whole family will love.

As a buyer, you may wonder whether moving into a community with an HOA is right for you. Perhaps you have heard horror stories from unhappy homeowners or have read about unreasonable boards that bully residents. How common are these events? And are the stories even true?

So your diligent search for that home of your dreams has finally led you to one that fits all your criteria. However, it is in an association, and you have known people who belonged to condo or homeowners associations (HOAs) that were poorly run or financially mismanaged.

You’re moving! That means an exciting new beginning. It also means a lot of work. But no need to stress out – following a simple checklist can prevent those moving migraines. One thing you’ll want to keep in mind: starting as soon as possible is the best policy. Good planning early on will save you some real heartache later. And though we’ve created a timeline that starts at two months out, your home closing may happen in as little as 45 days – just be sure to start the first items on the checklist as soon as you possibly can.

While it’s always best that all parties in an HOA, community association, condo association or other deed-restricted community agree and cooperate, it’s a fact of life that conflicts or disputes may arise. In many cases, the parties can settle their differences amicably and directly through frank and open discussion or negotiation. In other instances you may need mediation or arbitration to find a resolution.

While community preventative maintenance keeps systems running in a way that keeps future problems from happening, predictive maintenance entails using existing data to determine when systems might fail. Creating your community preventative maintenance schedule will help you budget for these occurrences – and eliminate most of those nasty surprises. Here’s how you can do it.

Your pool is a source of fun for all of your community’s residents. Yet when it comes time to resurface it, it can quickly become a source of headaches. Knowing the facts about your pool resurfacing options can help minimize the hassle – and ensure your community enjoys a quality pool experience for years to come. The best decision is an informed decision. An excellent community association management company will be experienced in this area and can weigh in with some really good insight – and make a recommendation for a reliable pool specialist, too. But before you get to that point, you can start with these pros and cons.

Summertime is swim time, and for the most part, it’s a plunge into carefree fun. But without the right swimming pool safety practices, your residents and association could be at risk.

Vacation season has arrived, and with it, the need to pack, plan and in many cases, make arrangements for our four-legged family members. Many hotels and other accommodations are not pet-friendly, so pet owners must decide where, and with whom, to leave Muffy or Max when heading out of town. From kennels to in-home pet sitters, there are various options to fit your lifestyle and budget.

Selling a home in a competitive market can be challenging, and your home still must pass inspection – a critical step to help prospective buyers make an informed decision about your home’s current condition, as well as any repairs and maintenance it may need.

When you purchase a home or unit within a deed-restricted community or building, your new residence comes complete with an added bonus – membership in your association. Whether your association is an HOA, community association or condo association, it’s comprised of fellow homeowners and stakeholders who, like you, want to protect the community’s property values, enhance its quality of life and make it a desirable place to live, both now and in the future.But an association can’t achieve these goals without homeowner involvement – after all, how can you have a say in what happens in your community if you don’t participate?

In today’s busy, noisy, fast-paced world, many of us have become multitaskers by necessity, caught up in trying to juggle the demands and responsibilities of family, health, career, lifestyle, community and more. But what if you could turn down the stress and volume of everyday life and enhance your life just by coming home?

For most people, looking neat, attractive and well groomed ranks high on their list of priorities. They have the same expectations for where they live – in fact, according to a recent industry survey, over 70% of homebuyers consider curb appeal an important factor when choosing a community.

If you’re part of the Millennial generation (typically defined as someone born between 1977 and 1992), the renting vs. buying landscape is drastically different for you than it was for your parents and their peers. That’s leading many Millennials to ask themselves the age-old question: should I rent a home or should I buy?

You just got home from a long day at work, and the trash bins are still there, full, in front of your house. They’re starting to reek, and any calls to your local government at this hour to find out why they weren’t picked up are going right to voicemail. You feel like no one is on your side, and it won’t be long until the raccoons are here to feast.

Winter’s coming, and with colder temperatures comes something that isn’t cool at all: disorganized closets and cluttered winter gear.

What happens when glass from a skyscraper crashes down onto crowded Fifth Avenue? It shatters your expectations of how a condo board, a developer and an insurance company can work together to come up with a compromise solution without litigation. Turns out it’s not impossible. Hey, who knew?

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.