What is CondoWonk?
CondoWonk is a guide to California condominium life, featuring human stories and creative problem-solving. From angry homeowners to electric vehicle charging and organics recycling, CondoWonk does the research and talks to experts (see: *wonk) to find practical “how-to” details you won’t find anywhere else on the web.
CondoWonk is for HOA presidents and board members, residents, managers, policymakers and anyone else who wants insight into the real issues condominiums confront.
*WONK (noun): A person who takes an enthusiastic or excessive interest in the specialized details of a particular subject or field.
Latest Articles
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What The Camera Saw
Security in a condominium building is a moving target. Cameras are an HOA’s best tool for catching culprits and fixing weak spots. Here are three true condo mystery stories and how they were solved.
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LADWP Electricity Rates: One that May Save Your HOA Money is Still Secret
Almost two years after CondoWonk reported that a little-known electric rate could lower HOA common area electric bills, an LADWP spokesperson acknowledges that its website provides no information. Instead, LADWP’s website refers only to a residential rate that causes bills to spike in the summertime.
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How to Get the Best LADWP Rate for Your HOA’s Electricity
Condominiums may save money on common area electricity by switching rates, but LADWP’s website won't tell you about it. This article, a companion to LADWP Electricity Rates: One that may Save your HOA Money is Still Secret, gives step-by-step instructions for switching rates.
CondoWonk is not just a website, it’s an information-sharing network of condominium boards, owners, managers and others, trying to make our communities run better. Share your questions, what worked and what didn’t.
You Had Me At "Wonk"
Doris Sussman Goldstein
I’m Doris Sussman Goldstein, a writer and Harvard Law School graduate who practiced real estate law in Florida for many years. My legal career focused on the development of Seaside and other walkable, mixed-use communities (sometimes called New Urban development) across Florida and other parts of the country.
As an attorney, I wrote condominium declarations and other HOA documents. Through my New Urban clients, I gained a deep appreciation for how well-designed multifamily housing supports transit and local retail in walkable neighborhoods.
At the end of 2015, I moved from suburban Florida to a condo in one of Los Angeles’s great walkable neighborhoods and eventually became president of the HOA. I thought it would be easy, but I was faced with all kinds of tough questions. The internet had no answers. This frustration became the driving force behind CondoWonk.
While my experience as an attorney naturally shapes my thinking, CondoWonk is not a legal blog. The statutes governing condominiums in California are very different from the law in Florida. I am not licensed to practice law in California and am not providing legal advice.
Instead, the website reflects my earlier career path as a newspaper reporter prior to law school, gathering information and sharing what I’ve learned.