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Q&A: Family Trust
My parents are both in their seventies and have begun setting their financial affairs in order. They have put whatever assets they own, such as cars, stocks and bonds, into their family trust in order to simplify their estate and avoid probate. Read More
Q&A: To Flip, or Not to Flip the Tax
Our 60-unit, self-managed co-op changed its bylaws about ten years ago to allow parents to sublet from their children and vice versa. The bylaws were changed with the condition that the flip tax would continue with any transfer of the apartment. The owners are claiming there is no change in ownership or tax status since the apartment is staying in the hands of a member of the same family. Is this legal and should we continue to require a flip tax transfer for the subtenants even if they are related? Any advice would be most appreciated. Read More
Q&A: Sole Access, Sole Responsibility!
I live in an older co-op that has eight large roof-terraces from 300 to 500 square feet. We have experienced leaks emanating from these terraces, over the years, to the apartments below. No one is able to use the terraces except the shareholder that has sole access to them. The square footage of the terrace is included in the shareholder’s monthly maintenance fee at a reduced rate since the terrace is only used for part of the year. This reduced maintenance fee was decided on years ago by the board at the time. Because of the difficulty in finding the leak, repairing it and then removing most if not all the tiles to replace them with new ones, we have found the costs to be outstanding. Read More
Q&A: Surpassing the Shareholders?
Several others and I are shareholders in a co-op on the East Side of Manhattan. Our board and management company are putting through Local Law 11 repairs. This is not a problem. However, they have refused for any of the shareholders to see the architect’s plans and have refused to get more than one bid. At a recent informational meeting we were told what was going to happen without having given our input. On top of that the management company is charging a hefty fee for this and we have not been allowed to see the contracts that authorize the project. Read More
Q&A: A Receipt for Maintenance
Do we, as a co-op collecting maintenance, need to comply with a shareholder’s written request, pursuant to RPL: Article 7 Section 235-e for written receipts for maintenance paid by personal check? Does this section even apply to maintenance? Would the same be true for assessments? Read More
Q&A: Lethal Airborne Waste?
I live in a large co-op on the Upper East Side which consists of 300 units. Six residents on the second floor, including myself, have terraces. Over the years large quantities of various items have come out of the windows above us and have landed on our exterior property, such as cigarette butts—some still burning, glass bottles, burning paper towels, clothing, burnt popcorn, and various personal hygiene products. Falling lit cigarettes have burned holes in awnings, umbrellas, and plants and burning paper towels have burned cushions. The fact that these items are coming out of the windows is unsanitary and dangerous. Our managing agent circulated a letter throughout the building but it hasn’t really stopped things from being deposited on our property. A security camera was focused on one particular apartment out of which previous items had been thrown, but the camera—part of a rotating security system—only catches seconds of footage here and there and does not consistently record one location for an extended period of time. Unless someone is caught in the act at that particular second, we still have no record of it happening. Read More
Q&A: Closing Question
I have an accepted offer on a condo in Manhattan, and I have a letter of commitment from my lender. Before proceeding to submit my application to the board, I was instructed by the managing agency that submission of tax returns, payroll stubs, and bank statements are necessary to process the application, in addition to the credit check. Read More
Q&A: One Good Reason
When an applicant applies to buy into a co-op and pays the high application fee, yet is denied by the board, shouldn’t they be given a reason why they were rejected? I feel strongly that the board is wrong in turning someone away without so much as an explanation, especially after accepting the non-refundable application fee, which is often in excess of $700 and holding the prospective buyer up with all the documentation required before even meeting him or her. Is the no-reason-given policy written into law, or just standard board practice? Read More
Q&A: Use of the STAR Abatement
Our co-op owners were just notified that the board has decided to appropriate the New York state School Tax Relief (STAR) tax abatement due to us for 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 as an assessment to do work on the building. Is this legal? We are also getting a maintenance increase as of April 1st. Read More
Q&A: Too Powerful Prez?
I am on the board of my Ridgewood, Queens co-op, and I have a problem with our current board president. Without consulting the other board members, the president has cancelled our upcoming meeting, saying that there is ‘nothing on the agenda’ despite the fact that I personally submitted three items to discuss in recent weeks. I managed to convince three of my fellow directors to hold the regular meeting anyway, but our president leaned on them to skip the meeting, then notified our co-op’s attorney and accountant and instructed them not to attend, effectively squashing the entire endeavor. Our president also signs service and construction contracts without getting more than just one or two bids and presenting them to the board for approval. Last year, the president unilaterally appointed our treasurer to run annual meetings, in the event the president was unable to attend—bypassing our vice president and disregarding the rest of the board. Is this kind of behavior simply unethical, or is it patently illegal? Read More
Q&A: Smoking Ban?
I have a question about a condo owner’s right to smoke in their apartment. Having secondhand smoke infiltrate our units troubles many of my fellow condo owners—including myself. Our property manager suggests that we approach the offending neighbors and ask them to refrain from smoking inside their condos, or step outside to smoke. Read More
Q&A: Surpassing the Shareholders?
Several others and I are shareholders in a co-op on the East Side of Manhattan. Our board and management company are putting through Local Law 11. This is not a problem. However, they have refused for any of the shareholders to see the architect’s plans and have refused to get more than one bid. At a recent informational meeting we were told what was going to happen without having given our input. On top of that the management company is charging a hefty fee for this and we have not been allowed to see the contracts that authorize the project. Read More
Q&A: Unfair Allocations
Our 20-floor co-op consists of two small buildings. The building went co-op in 1982 and the sponsor/owner converted from oil to gas, removed the boiler at his expense, and converted the basement space into a 1,200-square-foot-duplex apartment without adjusting the shares. This meant that the new apartment had the same allocation of shares as an 800-square-foot apartment. Another duplex apartment with garden space in the building was sold to a friend of the owner for a mere 14 shares—for approximately 1,500 square feet. By comparison, second floor residents with 800-square-foot apartments have 12 shares and third and fourth floor residents have 10 shares. I understand that sunlight and views can affect share allocation but these are pretty much the same in all the apartments. The only variance is the amount of space and floor location in the two duplex units. Read More
Q&A: Hot Under The Collar
We moved into our Chelsea co-op last spring, and when the heating was turned on in the fall, we learned that the west wall fin tube radiation wasn’t working. This means that we have no heat in the bedroom and partial heat in the living/dining room. We notified the building super and managing agent and the super attempted to get the heat working by getting air pockets out of the pipes, but the attempt failed, and we’ve been shivering ever since. The managing agent then told us that it’s OUR responsibility to contact a plumber, have repairs made and pay for them out-of-pocket. We contend that this is a central system fed from a boiler in the basement, and that the building is required to provide heat to all tenants by keeping the system in working order. Their response is that they are only responsible for providing hot water and steam, and that we are responsible for repairing the control valves or any other part relating to the function within our apartment. We are concerned that any modification we make to their system could impact other apartments and we could be held liable for damage or discontinuation of service. Read More
Q&A: How Long To Approve
I have a one-bedroom co-op in a six –story, 78-unit building in the Bronx on the market for $53,000 and have a prospective buyer who filled out the board application and provided the financial information required by the board. After reviewing his information, the board interviewed the interested buyer in early March in an empty apartment in our building. Two members of the board—one of whom was the board president—met with the buyer, and after concluding the interview told him they’d be in touch soon. To date no board decision, yea or nay, has been forthcoming. This interested buyer is a cash buyer with a solid credit history. He’s single, stable, tenured schoolteacher. Read More
Q&A: Elevator Replacement
Our six-story Queens condo is considering replacing our elevator. We have stairs, obviously, but getting up and down six stories will be difficult for some of our older unit owners. What legal obligations do we have as the board to provide access to our apartment owners (other than the stairs) to their units during the replacement project? Read More
Q&A: Sponsor Conflict
After serving on my board for the past two years as a vice president, I have now been elected president of my 83-unit Manhattan co-op. The equity sponsor (and 14 percent shareholder) has always been on the board, and for the last three years, has also served as treasurer. The sponsor also has a long-standing relationship with our managing agent, accountant, and attorney. Next week, we finish officer elections, and with the support of the majority of the board, I will be voting the sponsor out as treasurer and putting some “new blood” in the position. My question is: what issues should I be concerned with and what if any conflicts exist with having the sponsor as treasurer, given his relationship with the building’s other professionals? Read More
Q&A: Board Trouble
We have only three board members in our building. The current board has been in place for about seven years, and our shareholders would like to remove them because they’re ineffective. They failed to replace a board member who resigned, saying we can only have four board members when our propriety lease clearly says we should have seven. We shareholders are uncertain how many seats the sponsor of the building can hold—our board says only three, and our managing agent has let our Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) membership lapse, so we can’t get advice from them. We plan to rejoin the group as soon as we get rid of our board, but at the moment, we’re not sure how to proceed. Read More
Q&A: Washing Machine Woes
I’m a resident co-op shareholder, and despite the clearly stated bylaw that washing machines and dryers are not allowed in my building, the resident board president living underneath me illegally has not one, but both appliances in his apartment. When he uses them, my water pressure becomes uselessly low—coupled with the fact that it drives up water prices, the situation is terribly unfair. How can this upsetting predicament be decisively—but delicately resolved? Read More
Q&A: 80/20 Rule
I am the current board president of a 48-unit Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) co-op located in Manhattan. Recently, in an effort to bolster operating income, without increasing maintenance assessments, previous boards had decided not to sell 6 vacant co-op-owned studio apartments in our building. Read More
Q&A: Voting Question
Late last year, our board decided to make changes to our bylaws by an act of resolution; a move not authorized by our governing documents. A group of shareholders called a special meeting to oppose the changes, and they were voted on the following spring. Although a majority of shares voted, the changes were not approved by the 75 percent of shares necessary—and neither were they rejected by the 25 percent needed to deny the changes. Many shareholders didn’t vote in the mistaken belief that not voting was the equivalent of a “No” vote. Since then, the board has kept the voting open in an attempt to approach the non-voting shareholders. The question is: how long can this continue without a resolution? Can the board keep the voting open on this indefinitely? Read More
Q&A: A Fair Sublet Fee?
I’m curious! What is a fair sublet fee for a small Brooklyn co-op? Is it just a percentage of the maintenance, or decided upon by some other formula? Read More
Q&A: Brownstone Apartment Merger
We’re in the process of purchasing two studios in a small brownstone co-op. Our plan is to combine them into one apartment. How will reducing the number of dwellings in the building affect the overall co-op in terms of taxes, mortgage eligibility, zoning, etc.? Also, who- or what agencies-must be alerted about this project? Read More
Q&A: Problem Board Members
I’m currently the vice president for our co-op, a 334-unit community on Long Island. We’re having difficulties with two of our board members. One has been on the board for five years, and has been very destructive. For example, this board member accuses other board members of being corrupt, and our sponsor of manipulating the board, etc. Whenever the board member is confronted for proof, it can never be supplied. The board member also threatens everyone with lawsuits. This individual is also harassing our maintenance crew. The second board member follows in this person’s footsteps, and both their behavior is escalating. We are at a loss as to what to do. Our bylaws state that a two-thirds vote must come from the community in order to remove someone from the board, but this will be nearly impossible, as a large number of our shareholders do not take part in the voting process. Are there any other venues we could take? Read More
Q&A: Board Member Indemnification
Our board president was given a violation for doing electrical work without a permit and blamed the superintendent for reporting the work to the New York City Electrical Board. She asked the board for the reimbursement for the cost of the permit. The board voted on the issue and paid her using corporate funds. Even though the board president abstained, is this a violation of section 719 of the Business Corporation Law? If so, how should this violation be brought up to the shareholders, and what can be done? Read More
Q&A:The Board's Right to Choose Counsel
Our co-op board has been sued by a shareholder. We’ve notified our directors and officers (D&O) liability carrier of the lawsuit, and our carrier has in turn appointed a defense counsel to defend us against the lawsuit. Do we as a board have to accept our carrier’s choice of counsel, or can we request different counsel? Read More
Q&A: Heat Conversion
Our building (which is comprised of 17 one-bedroom units) is heated by a hot water gas boiler with baseboard radiators. The radiators are NOT individually controlled. The building is about 30 years old, and the boiler will soon need replacement. We are exploring the possibility of converting to electric heat by installing the heating/cooling units used in new high rise buildings. Read More
Q&A: Rental Issues in a Co-op
I am a rent-stabilized tenant in a co-op building. I was a tenant in the building before it became a co-op, and have had numerous problems with the owners. Read More
Q&A: Added Access, Added Cost
At our recent annual meeting we were shocked to learn that a single shareholder had, without any discussion, filed a complaint with the NYC or NYS over the absence of a ramp or some other special equipment (lift or elevator, possibly) that would provide her with better access our lobby (which includes a few steps up to the elevator on the first floor). We do have both steps and a ramp of sorts from the outside of each of the three buildings in our co-op that lead to the basement, where the elevator is then accessible without steps.
Read MoreQ&A: Understanding the Bylaws
I have been an apartment owner in a Woodside cooperative since 1985. Presently, we shareholders are faced with the problem of an overly controlling board. Read More
Q&A: Ballooning Mortgages
My co-op has a balloon mortgage that will burst in approximately 5-6 years if not refinanced. We were told that the lender will not allow a refinancing for at least another year, if not longer, and has refused to do one for the past 2-4 years. How can this be legal? Read More
Q&A: Democracy Lost?
Our board selected a Nominating Committee, which chose only the current board members as candidates. Six additional residents wanted to run, but their names were left off the ballot. The committee claims it selected the best for the community. With numerous mail-in ballots these people don’t stand a chance. Is this legal? Read More
Q&A: Financial Fiasco
I moved out of my Queens co-op apartment two years ago, right before the building started having numerous financial problems including bankruptcy and sponsor embezzlement. I am trying to sell my apartment, and have finally found a bank willing to give mortgages. Read More
Q&A: Will vs. Trust
I have been a shareholder in my Brooklyn co-op since 1986, and am facing a problem that has come up since my husband’s death almost 18 months ago. My husband was an active participant on our board of directors—past president, vice president, committee chairperson, and a proactive director for our co-op. Shortly after he passed away, a directive was issued from our board that for a $25 fee, shareholders could add or change a name on a lease. I considered doing this and adding my daughter’s name, but by the time I was ready to do so, I learned that the policy had changed and that new names could not be added. However, for a $50 fee, my husband’s name could be deleted from our lease, and—to guarantee my children the right to sell the apartment without difficulty upon my death—I would have to draw up a “living trust,” because a living will is not sufficient to insure the proper handling of my estate. Is this really the case? Read More
Q&A: Terrace Terror
I live in a two-building co-op in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Our board has undertaken the renovation of the terraces of both buildings, and the renovation requires any shareholders, who built enclosures around their terraces to dismantle them before the repairs can begin. Read More
