Dogs left alone all day get bored and restless, and many find relief in barking. Some respond noisily to any and all activity. But nothing is as annoying as incessant barking, even for dog lovers. If your dog is a yapper or a yowler, please consider some of these bark-abatement ideas to keep the noise down in your area. Your neighbors will thank you!

  • Training. Always the first recommendation for any behavioral problem! Help is as close as a Google search. Training not only helps your dog, but you’ll be surprised how much it helps you, too. You may get some insight into why your dog barks so much, or what it is trying to communicate.
  • Citronella collars. A humane alternative to the electric-shock, anti-barking collar and costs about the same.…

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Years ago, when I lived in an apartment, I decided to install a water filter onto my kitchen sink. I figured a could save the cost of paying a plumber to do what I could do myself. After all, I’m pretty handy when it comes to home maintenance. So, I hit up the home depot for a nice water filter, Rodman’s for a nice bottle of wine (a red blend), and then went back home to do my Ask This Old House thing.

Two glasses in, I’ve got the filter installed, Damian Marley & Nas playing in the background, and my filtered water is flowing beautifully and tastes like purity. Another home installation in the books…

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, I go to bed that night and fall into a deep satisfying slumber. At 3:45am, I’m jolted out of my sleep and…

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The Essentials of Due Process

Inevitably, from time to time, community rules are broken. When this happens, the association informs residents about the problem and follows what is known as due process procedure.

Simply stated, this means that the association should notify residents of alleged violations before taking any action. Written notices are sent describing the possible rule violation and residents are asked to correct the problem voluntarily by a specific date. These notices also explain any action the association may take if the violation isn’t corrected.

The association should understand that things aren’t always as they seem. So, any time a notice is sent to a resident, the board should invite the resident to hear their point of view.…

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Are Package Thieves Getting Rich off of You?


So, I get a call from my friend Jewell on a Friday late-afternoon, and she’s more than a little bent. As soon as I say hello, she dives into a frustrated rant about her packages being stolen, again. “Right from in front of my [expletive] door.” Are you sure? I ask... “Boo, the concierge confirmed they delivered them to my door this morning and somebody jacked my [expletive] packages before I got home,” she goes on to say. “Ty, I swear if I find out who stole my packages...," like I said, she was hot.   

My friend lives in an 84-unit condo building in the NW neighborhood of Washington, DC, but this is not an issue limited just to her building, nor to Washington, DC. Package theft is real, and is a…

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Landlords at a Loss

The State of Emergency for DC Landlords


The Condo Connection had the pleasure of representing our client Shirley, who purchased a 1,000 square foot condo in NE Washington, DC. This 2BR, 2BA, 2-level property was purchased as an investment property to serve as her primary income source during her retirement. Shirley officially retired in December 2019 and started off 2020 enjoying her well-earned retirement. At least, that’s how it started.

Like most of us, the absolute last thing Shirley saw coming was a pandemic, and she too, was impacted. Directly impacted. Shirley reached out to me in April and again in May 2020 and was seriously worried. She told me that her tenant lost her job because of the pandemic and had not made a…

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