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Board Resource Guide: Etiquette for Board Members
Serving on the board of directors for your building brings on a range of emotions: pride that you were selected to represent the best interests of your fellow shareholders; unease at the thought of the additional time commitment of meetings; and, perhaps most importantly, nervousness that you will do or say something that will ultimately be problematic for your board or for you personally. Read More
Board Resource Guide: Serving on the Board: What It's Really Like
As any co-op or condo board member knows, serving on the board carries with it a responsibility to fellow residents and shareholders to make decisions in the best interest of the building. They don't leave their role as board members at the door after a meeting, and this can present a problem if neighbors pick inappropriate times to discuss building matters. Read More
Board Resource Guide: Orienting New Board Members
Getting elected to a building's board can be a big job in and of itself—but the truth is that winning a seat is only the beginning. After making the decision to campaign for a seat, and then winning it, new board members can find themselves failing to understand exactly what they've gotten themselves into. Read More
Board Resource Guide: Training the Board
Board members come in all shapes and sizes—literally and figuratively. In some buildings, no one wants the hassle of working a thankless job for no compensation, and the same four people are guilted into the job every year by default. In other buildings, a board membership is a badge of honor, carrying great cachet, and residents vie for the privilege. Read More
Time Management and Delegation
Since it's a common belief that the best way to get something done is to give it to a busy person, it's often the busiest shareholders and unit owners that are elected to serve on the board. How do they find the time to add yet another responsibility to their already full plates? Many busy people in all walks of life—from high-powered executives to full-time homemakers—are relying more than ever on time management and delegation techniques to get (almost!) everything done. Read More
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
The Ins and Outs Of Illegal Sublets
In today’s booming real estate market everyone is looking to turn a profit. Should co-op shareholders be any different? Everyone wants a piece of the pie but at what cost? Subletting cooperative apartments can be very simple if you follow the guidelines that the co-op’s bylaws have put in place, but it seems as if it’s not that simple. Are shareholders taking advantage by manufacturing family members to make money, or are the cooperative corporations making their shareholders jump through too many hoops? Read More
Getting Tipsy
New York is an expensive town–on that point there can be little debate. Regardless of your means, sometimes it can feel as though everybody from the waitress at your favorite coffee shop to the person who sacks your groceries is trying to get every last nickel out of you. Tip jars are everywhere, sometimes decorated with winsome appeals for change ("Tipping is good karma!"), sometimes just sitting there expectantly, waiting for you to pony up. The holiday season compounds the issue: there are gifts to buy, travel accommodations to book, parties to attend, inclement weather to worry about… and the anxiety that many of us feel when we try to figure out what kind of tip to give the people who (hopefully) make our everyday life a little easier: our building staff. Read More
Tips About Tipping
New York is an expensive town - on that point there can be little debate. Regardless of your means, the holiday season compounds the issue: there are gifts to be bought, travel accommodations to be booked, parties to attend, inclement weather to worry about"¦ and the anxiety that many of us feel when we try to figure out what kind of tip to give the people who (hopefully) make our everyday life a little easier: our building staff. Read More
