Contributed by Ralph Manglass, P.E., Senior Engineer, Criterium Engineers If you own or manage a building with air conditioning or heat pump systems, you may soon notice higher replacement costs, and the reason may not be equipment age alone. Enacted in 2025, new federal refrigerant regulations began reshaping the HVAC industry, with significant cost….
Homeowner Associations News
Condo Tech and Design: Future Trends
Addressing the Housing Market The housing data has long been clear: there is not enough affordable housing available. The mix of types of housing (i.e., multi-family, condominiums, HOAs, and SLRs (Single Family Residences) does not adequately match our growing needs. Meanwhile, municipalities and developers are attempting to plan for evolving trends, designs, and technologies needed….
Is Your Façade Leaking?
A building’s exterior façade can experience water infiltration anytime during a its lifetime. The façade is composed of a variety of components including windows / door penetrations; wall cladding; and features such as balconies and other architectural elements. Water infiltration can occur while the building is undergoing transition from developer to a new condominium….
Your Future Roof Surface
Is your community facing resurfacing its flat roof(s) in the near future? This is a generational question as roof surfaces tend to last 25 to 30 years. By ‘flat roof(s)’ I mean a low-slope roof surface having a slope between ¼ and 3-inches per foot. In the Northeast, most existing flat roof surface membranes….
HOA Board Meeting Minutes Primer
Condominiums and HOA communities come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes but when it comes down to considering the differences of all condos great and small one thing is consistent, meeting minutes. This basic management tool is well known and formed by governing documents, IRS regulations, and legal recommendations. So at the….
Drones in Your Future
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) use is rising for condominiums and HOA community Reserve Fund and Transition building inspections. However, the use of UAV’s or drones is not for everyone. Condo boards will face future decisions regarding drone usage by either service providers or unit owners so the board should be prepared. For this reason, I….
Property Manager Responsibilities… or Not
Typical Property Manager Responsibilities: Over the last 20 years when things go wrong at condo complexes, I often get a call to provide solutions. Sometimes the call comes from the property manager and sometimes it is a member of the Board. Sometimes the call is from a unit owner. These types of inquiries remind me….
Condos and Tariffs
There is an old Chinese saying, ‘May you live in Interesting Times’. This statement is interpreted to be more of a curse than a friendly greeting, as the interesting times refer to upcoming periods of chaos or uncertainty. Ask any investor or economic forecaster what they fear most, it is uncertainty. Unfortunately, this is….
Common Asset Maintenance: Best Practices
HOA Maintenance Plans As a young engineer, the most valuable lesson I learned early on was not to try to remember everything but know where to find the answers. It is no different for a new condo board or property manager. The Community Association Institute (CAI) has gone to great lengths to provide community leaders….
Leaks Happen
Finding the Leak Like the bumper sticker says, Leaks Happen. Eventually all roofs will leak. The various available condo roof surfaces typically have different reserve fund plan expected useful lives. High slope roofs such as fiberglass composite shingles are budgeted to be replaced in 25 to 30 years while low slope roofs surfaces such as….