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				<title><![CDATA[Cooperator - Articles - 2009 April]]></title>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Q&amp;A: Foreigners in Flats]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1920/1/QampA-Foreigners-in-Flats/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[We live in a medium-sized co-op in Chelsea with seven apartments per floor. It
&nbsp;is clear to me that a woman who lives on our floor is using one or two of her
&nbsp;bedrooms as a bed and breakfast (B&amp;B). She must advertise on something like European Craigslist because there are
&nbsp;always foreigners coming in for a long weekend or a week at a time. I have mentioned this to the board of directors, but they are not planning to do
&nbsp;anything because there are people who have girlfriends and boyfriends living
&nbsp;with them long term. The board is not sure where to draw the line on guests (the policy is no more
&nbsp;than a month), and they cannot be sure this woman is charging people to stay
&nbsp;with her. I feel this is more of a safety issue. My daughter is always running out into
&nbsp;the hallway when she hears people, but it&rsquo;s never people we know going into this apartment. It makes me very
&nbsp;uncomfortable. You&rsquo;d like to think that an owner knows their visitors. I also think the building staff might be complicit although I cannot be certain
&nbsp;of this. Anytime I&rsquo;ve complained to the super or asked a doorman, who is visiting the apartment, I&rsquo;m always told it&rsquo;s a relative. Please give me some advice that I could take to the board. I have no problem
&nbsp;with legitimate visitors, but I do have an issue with new people coming almost
&nbsp;every weekend. 
&nbsp; ]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Bruce A. Cholst Esq.)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:47:43 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1920/1/QampA-Foreigners-in-Flats/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Q&amp;A: Charging Shareholders for Washing Machine Usage]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1919/1/QampA-Charging-Shareholders-for-Washing-Machine-Usage/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[In a previous issue of The Cooperator, attorney C. Jaye Berger discusses the
&nbsp;matter of allocation of costs by shares for services such as electricity and
&nbsp;water, as opposed to person adjusted usage. I do not take issue with her
&nbsp;comments, but would like to raise a related issue, one in which the discrepancy
&nbsp;is not random, but based on board policy. 
]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Andrew P. Brucker)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:45:41 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1919/1/QampA-Charging-Shareholders-for-Washing-Machine-Usage/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Q&amp;A: Buying Into Building with Low Reserves]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1918/1/QampA-Buying-Into-Building-with-Low-Reserves/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[My offer on a co-op was accepted and the co-op sent some of the financials to my
&nbsp;attorney. I&rsquo;m told that the building&rsquo;s financials are &ldquo;OK,&rdquo; not terrific and not terrible. My attorney said that the reserves are $140,000 or approximately $2,000 per
&nbsp;person (I&rsquo;m assuming per unit) but he would have expected $250,000 to $300,000 in
&nbsp;reserves. The apartment is located in a nice section of the Bronx (Riverdale),
&nbsp;but I am clueless as to what the average cash reserve should be, if it depends
&nbsp;on where the co-op is located, if building amenities impact reserve, etc. I cannot afford to buy a co-op that I will have difficulty to resell, due to the
&nbsp;co-op&rsquo;s financials, even though I plan to live there for many years. Is there any
&nbsp;specific information that you can provide to help me determine whether this
&nbsp;would be a sound investment? Is there a place where I could discover
&nbsp;neighborhood average reserves? 
&nbsp;]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Richard B. Montanye)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:44:29 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1918/1/QampA-Buying-Into-Building-with-Low-Reserves/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Q&amp;A: Is Seller Allowed at Prospective Buyer Interview?]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1917/1/QampA-Is-Seller-Allowed-at-Prospective-Buyer-Interview/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[We are a small co-op building of 28 units in Jackson Heights, Queens. We would
&nbsp;like to know if during an interview of the prospective buyer a seller is
&nbsp;allowed to be present, where he/she might intervene during the process favoring
&nbsp;the prospective buyer and influencing shareholders, before and during the
&nbsp;voting for approval of the buyer. 
]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Jeremy J. Deutsch)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:42:42 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1917/1/QampA-Is-Seller-Allowed-at-Prospective-Buyer-Interview/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Sustainable South Bronx]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1916/1/Sustainable-South-Bronx/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&nbsp;As a neighborhood, the South Bronx has struggled for nearly three decades under
&nbsp;the negative connotations of its name as a flash point for violent crime,
&nbsp;drugs, and unchecked urban decay. For many of those who live there, life is
&nbsp;bounded on all sides by pollution and poverty. 
]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Keith Loria)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:40:33 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1916/1/Sustainable-South-Bronx/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Training for Building Personnel]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1915/1/Training-for-Building-Personnel/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&nbsp;On the infamous evening of September 11, 2001, Battery Park City resident Hank
&nbsp;Wisner was unable to go home to his smoke- and ash-filled apartment across the
&nbsp;street from the World Trade Center. As he watched the day&rsquo;s events play over and over on a friend&rsquo;s TV, he realized that the average civilian is unprepared to handle an emergency
&nbsp;situation of that magnitude. In the months following 9/11, Wisner began
&nbsp;shopping around for a program his building community could implement to address
&nbsp;emergency rescue issues. 
&nbsp;]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Christine C. Barnas)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:39:39 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1915/1/Training-for-Building-Personnel/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Answering the Day-to-Day Questions]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1914/1/Answering-the-Day-to-Day-Questions/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&nbsp;Your roof terrace leaked and the neighbor below you sued for damages. The
&nbsp;heating system in your apartment failed to work and the managing agent sent you
&nbsp;the bill for its repair. You bought a dog for your child, and six months later
&nbsp;the board has demanded that the animal be removed from the building. What are
&nbsp;your options in these scenarios? 
]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Irwin Cohen)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:38:12 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1914/1/Answering-the-Day-to-Day-Questions/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Legal Cases Your Board Should Know]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1913/1/Legal-Cases-Your-Board-Should-Know/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&nbsp;While not everyone who serves on his or her co-op or condo board needs to be an
&nbsp;attorney or have an encyclopedic knowledge of the law, it never hurts to be
&nbsp;aware of the important, often precedent-setting legal decisions being handed
&nbsp;down by the courts. Some of these cases offer useful insights to boards, while
&nbsp;others may ultimately have an impact on how buildings are run from day to day.
&nbsp;Over the past few months there have been several such decisions&mdash;here are a few that may provide building administrators with some helpful ideas
&nbsp;and information. 
]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Joseph G. Colbert)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:37:28 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1913/1/Legal-Cases-Your-Board-Should-Know/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[What You Must Know]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1912/1/What-You-Must-Know/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&nbsp;It&rsquo;s amazing how good building owners and managers are at increasing and garnering
&nbsp;revenue from residential tenants while at the same time leaving themselves to
&nbsp;the will and whim of laundry room operators who impose contracts lasting for
&nbsp;decades with automatic renewals, rights of first refusal and other one-sided
&nbsp;provisions. The fault is with the owner and owner&rsquo;s counsel for failing to exercise even rudimentary due diligence. This article
&nbsp;attempts to equip boards with the a few tools to negotiate a better and more
&nbsp;lucrative agreement. 
&nbsp;]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:34:48 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1912/1/What-You-Must-Know/Page1.html</guid>
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					  <title><![CDATA[A Green Lining in a Down Market]]></title>
					  <link>http://cooperator.com/articles/1911/1/A-Green-Lining-in-a-Down-Market/Page1.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&nbsp;The realities of a depressed real estate market have finally settled upon New
&nbsp;York City. We&rsquo;ve seen a significant drop in sale prices over just the past few months. This
&nbsp;has been coupled with a rapid increase in inventory levels as units stay on the
&nbsp;market longer, further exacerbating this downward spiral in price. While there
&nbsp;are many reasons for the slump in the housing market that can and have filled
&nbsp;many other articles and columns, the real question is what can a building do to
&nbsp;attract new buyers and to keep existing owners in their units in the future.
&nbsp;Green design and energy efficiency improvements provide an opportunity for
&nbsp;buildings to address demand for and price of their units on the market. 
]]></description>
					  <author>no@spam.com (Erik D. Nevala-Lee)</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:33:34 EDT</pubDate>
					 <guid isPermaLink="true">http://cooperator.com/articles/1911/1/A-Green-Lining-in-a-Down-Market/Page1.html</guid>
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