Condo Lawyer Brookline
Experienced condominium counsel for Brookline associations.
Brookline is dense with established condominium associations, many of them in substantial pre-war brick buildings along Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue with high owner-occupancy and long institutional memory. These are exactly the associations where experienced counsel earns its keep, and where boilerplate falls short.
SERVICES
Where expert condo counsel matters most in Brookline.
Older, larger Brookline buildings tend to surface the harder condominium questions: capital projects on aging masonry and shared systems, reserve adequacy that lenders and insurers now scrutinize closely, and governing documents written for a different era. We help Brookline boards and managers plan and fund major work, bring documents into line with current law and current lending requirements, and resolve the governance and enforcement disputes that come with closely held, long-tenured associations.
Document Review & Amendments
Reviewing master deeds, declarations of trust, bylaws, and rules and regulations. Drafting amendments to bring documents into line with current law, current building needs, or current case law. Updating documents that haven't been touched in decades, and explaining what changes will actually pass at a unit owner meeting.
Board Governance & Operations
Counseling boards through difficult decisions, including when to call a special meeting, how to handle conflicts of interest, what kinds of decisions require unit owner votes, and how to document board actions in a way that withstands future challenges.
Rule Enforcement
Enforcing parking restrictions, pet policies, short-term rental prohibitions, leasing limits, and architectural controls. Advising on when rules can be enforced as written and when they need to be amended first. Handling disputes that escalate to litigation.
Special Assessments & Capital Projects
Structuring and authorizing special assessments for major repairs, deferred maintenance, and capital improvements. Counseling boards through reserve fund use, financing decisions, and the procedural steps required for assessments to be enforceable.
Collections
Pursuing unpaid common area fees and assessments. Massachusetts condominiums have one of the strongest priority lien protections in the country, much of which was secured by legislation Stephen helped lead in the early 1990s. We use those protections strategically.
Developer Turnover
Representing associations in the transition from developer control to unit owner control. Reviewing turnover documents, identifying outstanding warranty claims, and ensuring that the developer's representations match the building's actual condition.
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
When matters cannot be resolved through negotiation, representing associations in court and in arbitration. Defending against unit owner challenges, prosecuting against vendors and contractors, and pursuing developers for breach of warranty or defect claims.
WHO WE WORK WITH
A narrow client base, by design.
Marcus Condo Law represents Brookline condominium associations of 30 units or more, property management companies, and developers. The practice focuses on the matters where experienced judgment matters most, and refers people with other problems to a trusted colleague with the relevant experience.
Condominium Associations of 30+ Units
We work directly with boards of trustees and management committees on the matters that shape how a building runs. Most of our association clients have a long-term relationship with the firm — we are the expert counsel they turn to for harder questions, while routine matters are handled by their property manager or in-house staff.
Property Management Companies
Many of our association engagements come through property managers who refer us in when something requires expert legal input. We also work directly with management companies on policy questions, training, and matters affecting their portfolio of properties.
Developers
We advise developers on document drafting for new condominium projects, conversion of rental buildings to condominium ownership, turnover negotiations, and defense of warranty and defect claims after delivery.
WHY STEPHEN MARCUS
Experience that has been written into the law itself.
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Our pre-war building needs major masonry work. Where do we start?
Often it traces back to reserves, deferred maintenance, master insurance, or documents that no longer meet secondary market expectations. We help associations diagnose what is causing the flag and fix it so units stay marketable.
Lenders are flagging our association during unit sales. Why?
Often it traces back to reserves, deferred maintenance, master insurance, or documents that no longer meet secondary market expectations. We help associations diagnose what is causing the flag and fix it so units stay marketable.
Where in Brookline do you work?
Throughout the town, from Coolidge Corner and Washington Square to the larger associations along Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue.
Does Massachusetts require our association to have a reserve study?
Not yet. Massachusetts requires condominiums to maintain an adequate, segregated reserve fund under Chapter 183A, but it does not currently mandate a formal reserve study the way some states do. Lenders and insurers increasingly expect one anyway, so most well-run associations commission them. We help boards understand what they actually need.
What does expert consulting mean in practice?
It means we are typically the lawyer a property manager, a board, or another attorney calls when a routine question becomes a hard one: a document amendment that has to pass at a unit owner meeting, an insurance program that has to satisfy both lenders and the master deed, or a defect matter with serious dollars at stake. The kind of work where experience and judgment matter more than volume.
IS THIS THE RIGHT FIT?
Marcus Condo Law works primarily with Brookline condominium associations of 30 units or more, property management companies, and developers. We do not typically represent individual unit owners, associations smaller than 30 units, or landlord-tenant matters. If your situation falls outside that scope, send a brief note and we'll point you toward a colleague who can help.
REQUEST A CONSULTATION
Tell us about the matter. We respond within one business day.
We'd be glad to hear about your Brookline association, your portfolio, or your project.
Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Eastern). By appointment outside business hours.
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