2012 October
Focus on... Board Operations

Board Operations Getting Ahead of the Curve
2012 October Getting Ahead of the Curve

 It's almost a mantra: the more you know, the better off you are—certainly when it comes to doing the job of a cooperative, condominium or HOA  board member. No matter how enthused and engaged a new board appointee may be,  they don't come…

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Board Operations Boards Underwater
2012 October Boards Underwater

When the bank took back a Harlem condominium, the rest of the building's residents were stuck with years of unpaid arrears by the former resident. “There was a tremendous amount of arrears from about three or four years already accruing…

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Board Operations The Benefits of Being on the Board
2012 October The Benefits of Being on the Board

 Many co-op and condo owners want to get involved in their community but they  soon find out that being on the board is no picnic. Soon neighbors are  pestering them asking for feuds to be settled, decisions that affect all  resident’s liv…

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Board Operations Fiduciary Duty
2012 October Fiduciary Duty

 Being elected to the board of directors of a co-op or condo comes with a great  deal of power, and with that power also comes a great deal of responsibility. Whether they serve a co-op or condo community, board members, in their position  …

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Board Operations Getting Out the Vote
2012 October Getting Out the Vote

 When it comes to running board elections in a condo or co-op community, the  biggest concern among those involved is making sure the elections are fair and  balanced and nobody has a reason to cry foul. Elections can be heated as it is,  …

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Design Uncommon Areas
2012 October Uncommon Areas

Curb appeal provides that first impression, the attention-grabbing feature that all condominium and co-op properties strive for. In New York City, curb appeal usually starts with colorful flowers or planters out front that may reflect t…

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Finance Understanding Operating Costs
2012 October Understanding Operating Costs

In your own household, you have money coming in and money going out. You have things you want to save up for—say, a new cool high-def, flat screen television or the latest iPad. Yet you owe your car company and your creditors. To keep i…

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Maintenance Chutes and Ladders
2012 October Chutes and Ladders

 Keeping the trash chutes and collection rooms of multifamily buildings clean,  sanitary and stench-free is a big job, and an important one. Poorly-maintained  chutes are not just gross—they're breeding grounds for pests, bacteria, and oth…

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Insurance How Much is Enough?
2012 October How Much is Enough?

 Legendary funny man Benny Goodman once said, “I don’t want to tell you how much insurance I carry with the Prudential, but all I can  say is: when I go, they go too!” The comedian hits on all-important issue: how much insurance is too muc…

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Finance Relief in Tough Times
2012 October Relief in Tough Times

 The age-old adage from Benjamin Franklin perhaps says it best: nothing is  certain but death and taxes.    And without some assistance on the legislative front, taxes are likely to  increase significantly for New York City co-op an…

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Maintenance Winter is Coming
2012 October Winter is Coming

 As the last few years have demonstrated, winter can be an unpredictable time in  New York City. Some years, temperatures remain fairly mild and we barely get  any snow, while other years are bitterly cold, with howling winds and epic  sno…

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Real Estate Trends New Life for Unused Rooms
2012 October New Life for Unused Rooms

 Media room, game room, common room, party room—regardless of what you call them, the purpose of these shared spaces in co-ops  and condos is to give residents a place to gather; to hold an in-house meeting,  throw a graduation party or sc…

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Real Estate Trends The Water Way
2012 October The Water Way

 As we city dwellers go about our busy lives, we often forget about the plain  facts of life here on this spinning globe: gravity creates an unceasing tension  in the materials we assemble into buildings and other structures. Whether or  n…

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Maintenance Preparing for Winter Weather
2012 October Preparing for Winter Weather

 What could be nicer than being safely home on a winter’s day, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate while snow falls outside your window?  That is until you hear the drip, drip, drip more often associated with a rain  event and find that the pr…

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Board Operations Can We Talk?
2012 October Can We Talk?

The difference between a residential building that is successful and one that is troubled can be the level of communication between the building’s shareholders and its board members. Although not commonly discussed, this is perhaps one o…

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Neighborhoods DUMBO
2012 October DUMBO

 With its oversized live/work loft spaces, picturesque water views, cheap rent,  cobblestone streets, and five-minute subway ride to Lower Manhattan, DUMBO—shorthand for 'Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass,' and not to be confused  w…

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Organizations The Manhattan Resident Manager's Club
2012 October The Manhattan Resident Manager's Club

Superintendents are a lot more than a repair person or someone to call at 3:00 a.m. if you suddenly find yourself without heat in the middle of a blustery February night. Superintendents or resident managers are responsible fo…

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Law & Legislation Keep it Down
2012 October Keep it Down

In a recent case that will be of interest to anyone who has ever wanted to bang on the wall between his or her apartment and the one next door and shout at the neighbors to keep it down, the New York Supreme Court found insufficient ev…

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Q&A Q&A: Determining Co-op Debt
2012 October Q&A: Determining Co-op Debt

Q My 47-unit Brooklyn cooperative is carrying $1.7 million of debt, all of it  already spent, in an interest-only mortgage, and contemplating taking on more  debt. By what measure or measures does a cooperative determine how much debt is …

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