A reader wonders how to calculate the square footage of a home Developers calculate the square footage of a home in different ways. Which can be confusing. Q: I read your column regularly and have a question. I recently attended an open house for a 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo in a south suburb of Chicago. [...]
Can you rent out a condo you own? Q: I want to know if you can rent out a condo you own. I live in a four-unit condominium in Chicago. My understanding is that in a condominium building of this size, only one unit can hold a license for short term rentals. One owner already [...]
Elevator not working. How do we deal with a broken elevator and help our condo residents when the main one is out of service for repairs? Q: Our elevators aren't working. We are scheduled to begin an elevator modernization project soon. The project will require that one of the two elevators in our building be [...]
Condo parking space problem? What do you do if your neighbor's car is too big for their parking space? Q: My condo building was built around 30 years ago. The access to the parking area is in a Z shape and our parking spaces are perpendicular to the sidewalk. As I understand it, a parking [...]
Homeowners demand more EV charging stations in their condos, co-ops, and townhomes Have you noticed the number of EVs exploding in your neighborhood? What about EV charging stations? Do you hear more people talking about getting an EV and installing a charging station in their home, building, or townhome parking garage? Over the past few [...]
Do renters make good neighbors? A condo owner wants to know if she should worry that her fellow owners rent out their homes. Q: I live in a nine unit self-managed condominium building. Over the years, the board members rented out their units. In one year, two units sold and a third unit is up [...]
Condo living: pros and cons of a small HOA Q: I purchased my condo in July 2021. Since then, the condo board put through a special assessment for $120 per month for the next 84 months to pay for “unsafe balcony” repairs. This was not disclosed at the time of my closing. Condo HOA is [...]
Electric Car Charging Stations: an Update As we enter 2022, there has been a surge of interest in electric cars. In 2018, there were a million electric cars on the roads in the U.S. Last year, Tesla sold more than one million cars. General Motors announced a big move into the electric car space. PolicyAdvice [...]
Does our condo association have a case against the builder? They found out the roof was built against code and the cost to repair is upwards of $150,000. Q: In 2006, we purchased a condominium in Chicago on the third floor of a 3-story building. Over those years, we’ve experienced water issues with the roof [...]
What can I do if my building isn’t following local COVID-19 rules? What you can do about it and how to keep yourself safe. Q: Our city maintains a list of states that have high COVID-19 cases and requires local residents or visitors to quarantine for two weeks after traveling to these states. One of [...]
