1998 Nov
1998 Nov Vol. 18, No. 10
Focus on...Interacting With Professionals
Checks and Balances
Your co-op or condo is your home but it's also a business with vendors, contractors and a board of directors that sets guidelines affecting everyone. As in any business, there exists the potential for theft and fraud. While there are no fool-proof methods to prevent wrongdoing by board members and the professionals and vendors they do business with, there are checks and balances that can be put into place to help keep everyone honest. Read More
Policies and Procedures
The best-run co-ops and condos regularly update their house rules document, providing essential information to residents, the board and the professionals who work with the building, on everything from payment of arrears to installation of window guards. These properties also develop and distribute, either as part of the house rules or as a separate reference document, a policies and procedures manual that clearly defines how the board and residents are to communicate with management and go about certain activities such as applying for permission to make alterations to apartments, arranging for sublease or rental approval, moving in and out of the building, providing keys for emergency access and countless other items. Because the list goes on and on, having a manual can make life a lot easier. Read More
Maintenance Fees
Cost of living increases can be felt everywhere, from the theatre to the supermarket to the gas station. So it may come as a surprise to many co-op and condo residents that one place you don't have to expect an increase is in your monthly maintenance bill. The building can avoid unpopular increases by lowering the operational costs, refinancing the mortgage or increasing property revenue. Instituting one or more of these strategies in your building can result in stable maintenance payments that will make residents happy and cause buyers to smile, too. Read More
Cover Story: Selling One Home to Buy Another
You've planned carefully so that you'll be ready to close on the apartment you're selling just as you take possession of the apartment you're buying. Even though the new place isn't yours yet, you've already begun renovating and decorating it in your mind's eye. Then you get the bad news that a higher bidder has snatched "your" home out from under you. Unfortunately, it's too late to decide not to sell the co-op you live in. There's no turning back and the likelihood of finding another great apartment seems unlikely. Even worse, you begin to worry that you and your belongings will wind up out on the street or camped out in a relative's guest room. What are your options and are there any steps that buyers who are also sellers can take to avoid this and other nightmarish scenarios? Read More
