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Red-Tape Free
Some years ago, an acquaintance of ours worked as a
“permit clerk” for a plumber while on summer vacation in
college. The plumber would give him paperwork for a work project, he would
go to the city offices, and, in theory, he would get the necessary permit.
However, more and more often, the people behind the window would find fault
in the proposal and send our friend back without the permit. Then, the head
of the plumbing company would get angry, get on the phone and send him back
a second time. After a few weeks, the young man left the job and took one
in a store instead.
Read More
Eyes Wide Open
Few experiences can rattle the collective confidence of
a co-op or condo community as much as charges of fraud. Trusts are broken
and faiths betrayed, all in the name of personal gain. Boards and residents
can protect themselves, though, and go a long way toward ensuring that the
trauma of fraud does not happen to them.
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Tracking a Silent Killer
This winter, like all before it, is sure to see thousands of New Yorkers suffering from colds, sore throats, and run-of-the-mill-but-always-inconvenient flu. While fatigue, headaches, and even nausea are miserable in and of themselves, with cold weather there also comes a greater chance that those unpleasant-but-bearable symptoms might be a sign of something much more serious—carbon monoxide poisoning. Read More
Change is Good
David Sack has lived in the West Village John Adams apartment building since 1998. The building is a 21-story, 404-unit, white-brick apartment complex built in 1963 and converted to a cooperative in 1980. Read More
Responding to Shareholder Complaints
One of the biggest complaints heard by attorneys, managers, neighbors, —and yes, even publications like The Cooperator—from co-op and condo dwellers is that board members do not respond promptly to shareholder/owner complaints, or worse, they don’t even respond at all. Polite inquiries and even urgent problems are met with silence, and repeated requests for action seem to fall on deaf ears. Read More
To Err is Human
Boards of directors are usually made up of ordinary people, elected or appointed by their neighbors to run their building smoothly and efficiently. Most board members do their utmost to fulfill that expectation, but occasionally, even the most well-intentioned board members can make mistakes—some of which may have serious legal ramifications for their buildings. Fortunately help is available to both novice board members as well as seasoned veterans, in the form of fellow board members, building professionals and seminars. Read More
Taking Charge
Every co-op shareholder knows that their board president is responsible for making decisions that affect the entire building community—but not as many grasp the amount of responsibility and decision-making that a person undertakes when they become board president. Read More
Better Meetings
Is there anybody in this world who likes sitting through meetings? Too often they seem pointless, endless and directionless. But they’re part of co-op and condo life, an important part in fact, so if you’re a board member or property manager, it’s best to accept them and make them as useful and worthwhile as possible. Read More
The Balancing Act
With upkeep and mortgage payments, even the occasional renovation, owning your own co-op or condo can be work enough on its own. Now imagine being responsible for 10 units, or 50, even 200. That daunting task is up to each building’s board of directors and managing agent. Together, they form the team that makes sure each co-op and condo community runs smoothly and efficiently, making them a welcoming and safe place for shareholders and unit owners to live and play. Read More
On the Board
All she wanted to do was to sell her co-op apartment. Although she used her ground-floor property both for work and as a residence, she wasn’t quite sure whether it could be sold as a live-work apartment. So she did what she thought she should do—she went to her board and asked. Read More
Serving on the Board
With annual meeting season upon us lots of shareholders contemplate leaving the sidelines behind to join the ruling class. Before you decide to cross over, be forewarned that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. To help you make an informed decision, I offer the following crash course in director basics culled from The New York Co-op Bible (where you can go for a more advanced degree). Read More
Keep it Clean
In a city as densely populated as New York City, government agencies such as the Department of Sanitation of New York (DSNY) have their work cut out for them when it comes to strategically managing the 365-day-a-year task of picking up the city's garbage. Read More
White Noise
In a recent New York magazine article on sound and noise levels, an acoustics expert measured various sound levels throughout the city. Read More
Quiet on the Set
Unwanted sound is the bane of many a New York co-op or condo dweller's existence. Few things are as annoying as being awakened in the middle of the night by a car alarm, being forced to listen to a neighbor's stereo against your will, or having to tread lightly in order to avoid disturbing the people who live below you. Noise-driven complaints can also generate serious friction between residents, leading both to festering resentment and, in some cases, to lawsuits. Fortunately, there's an entire industry dedicated to providing soundproofing solutions for almost any scenario, from the light sleeper who needs to seal noise out to the music lover who wants to seal it in. Unfortunately, the word "soundproofing" itself is a bit optimistic. Read More
Before the Hammer Falls
Though necessary, major capital improvement projects—like facade restoration, elevator refurbishment, or window replacement—can often mean big hassles for building residents, particularly if they haven't been properly prepped for the changes and kept in the information loop. Read More
Playing the Board Game
Getting on a condo or a co-op board requires a significant investment " both in time and sweat equity. As president of a Greenwich Village co-op board, I can attest firsthand to the labors involved. Rarely does a day pass when I don't receive a call from a shareholder who wants to ask a question, complain about a neighbor or discuss a pending issue. But to me, it's all worth it, for we board members are watching over and enhancing the values of our most important asset - our homes. Read More
Spin Cycle
Most co-op and condo buildings have a common laundry room for residents to use instead of washers and dryer units in each apartment. Laundry rooms are more than just an amenity; to some, they are practically a necessity, and the operation and maintenance of laundry rooms has drastically changed over the years. Read More
Mixed Signals
Ever since the government deregulated the telecommunications market nearly ten years ago, more and more cable and satellite TV providers have been vying for our attention, constantly improving technology, service, and convenience. Read More
Netiquette 101
Gone are the days when friends and associates corresponded with each other via long, handwritten letters on lovely watermarked paper. Today, most of what gets said and done is done so via e-mail; it's faster, easier, and more convenient than sending messages by hand and waiting for a reply. Sometimes, e-mail is even quicker than the telephone. Read More
You've Got Mail
Returned quicker than a phone call and, lately, more powerful than a postal letter, e-mail has become the superman of communication for all facets of life. Today, not only are e-mails used in everyday business and for personal communication between friends and family, but e-mail has extended into the communication between physicians and patients, teachers and students, and between property managers, board members and shareholders. Read More
Manage This
Property managers have a lot to keep track of - board and shareholder meetings, maintenance issues, and a host of other concerns that go along with managing a building - or in some cases several buildings - in a metropolitan area like New York City. Depending on the size of the management company and the number of properties in their management portfolio, a single agent often has multiple properties to take care of. That can have as many advantages as it does disadvantages. Read More
Leaving Your Car at Home
There are a lot of things people consider when they look into buying a condo or co-op in New York City. Location is important, safety is an issue, and the size of the space is always a factor. But one thing that may get overlooked is the importance of a public parking facility available to its residents. Read More
Treasuring the Role
Of all the members of a co-op building's board, the treasurer is in a unique position to uphold the fiduciary responsibility of the corporation, similar to that of a chief financial officer in the corporate world. Read More
Welcome Aboard
Serving on a co-op board or condo association certainly has its advantages. Not only does the position give shareholders a chance to have more say in how their community is run, it helps add to their knowledge and understanding of what goes into running that community. Read More
To Let, Or Not to Let
Even though subletting is often frowned upon by boards and sometimes forbidden outright, that doesn't stop shareholders all over the city from renting out their co-ops. Shareholders may sublet as a means of making money on an apartment that's not their primary residence, or as a way to avoid paying maintenance on an apartment they won't be occupying for an extended period, perhaps because of work or travel. Sometimes even a building's sponsor will rent out unsold units as a way of generating extra income. Read More
Failure to Communicate
With any sort of multifamily housing arrangement comes the possibility of a certain amount of conflict between the various involved parties: shareholders, board members, management, and sponsors. In theory, a key role of a board of directors is to settle such conflicts. But what if your problem is with the board itself? Read More
Paper Cuts
Lots of people talk about the stress and uncertainty of the approval process in New York City's co-op and condo buildings; all that scrutiny, all that paperwork! But the endless reams of forms and files take another toll as well - on the environment. Read More
Ruling the Roost
The dream of homeownership often brings with it the independence of owning your own space, decorating it as you wish and living by your own rules. Yet when you reside in a co-op or condominium with possibly hundreds of other residents, your behavior and lifestyle must conform to a reasonable standard. With that in mind, all buildings establish house rules - guidelines outlining policies for proper behavior and rules for keeping your property safe and well-maintained. Incorporated as part of the governing documents, house rules help residents live together in peace and harmony - well, most of the time, anyway. Read More
Work Permits
If you're planning a renovation project, either on your own as an individual apartment owner or as a member of your building's board, you know there's a lot to think about and arrange for long before the actual work begins. You particular project could range from minor plumbing work to an overhaul of your building's entire façade, but before any work on the property begins, you'll have to determine whether you need a work permit, obtained through the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB). Most projects - other than general maintenance replacement and cosmetic work - do require at least this basic permit. Read More
The Latest Thing
Whether doing chores such a laundry or using gym equipment or swimming pool, we want to maximize the time we spend doing the things we like, and make the less-pleasant jobs as hassle-free as possible. Residential buildings are in business to attract residents, and one of the best ways to do this is to offer the most up-to-date amenities. Residents may not even consider the technology at work in many of their building's amenities, but they'll certainly appreciate the convenience and value it adds to their lives and investment. Most everything we do in our day-to-day lives is technology driven, and that includes things as straightforward as the laundry facilities in our apartment building or the machines we use to stay fit. Today, shareholders and unit owners demand speed and efficiency, and would rather not to have to read a 1,000-page book to have it. The following is a look at what's new in some of the most commonly offered in-house amenities. Read More
When Owners Fall Behind
A common problem facing condo associations, boards and managers is how to compel unit owners who fall behind in their common charges to pay their arrears. In a condominium association with only a few units, if even one unit owner falls behind in common charge payments, the building may have trouble meeting operating expenses. When unit owners in larger condominium associations with many units fall into arrears, although the impact may not be felt immediately, eventually the shortfall will have to borne by the other unit owners via increases in common charges or assessments. Read More
Pullman, Six Months Out
In May, in a decision that has confused - and alarmed - some New York co-op shareholders, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that co-op boards had the right to apply the business judgment rule to vote so-called "objectionable tenants" out of their buildings for ongoing, objectionable behavior. Read More
And the Winner Is...
No matter how a building's governing documents are worded, co-ops and condos have to hold board elections at regular intervals. More importantly, every effort must be made to let shareholders know when and where the elections will be held, how to participate, and what the results are. Running an election and tabulating the results, however, aren't the simplest things in the world. Read More
Surviving the Rough Patches
Even among the closest friends, conflict is inevitable. It's no surprise then that the relationship between shareholders and boards can sometimes be contentious. Problems can range from small-scale squabbles to multi-million dollar lawsuits that seem to drag on forever. When conflict does occur, however, there is usually a solution to solve just about any problem. Read More
