2005 Jul
Focus on... Budget&Finance

Law & Legislation More Power to Condo Boards
2005 Jul More Power to Condo Boards

Historically, co-op buildings have had the market cornered on board-mandated restrictions, strict bylaws, and procedural red tape, while condos have been more black-and-white: co-op shareholders own shares, and condo owners own real estate.…

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Finance The Mitchell-Lama Buyout Process
2005 Jul The Mitchell-Lama Buyout Process

Back in 1955, when the flight to the suburbs was going full blast and many city neighborhoods were deteriorating from lack of money and municipal attention, the Mitchell-Lama bill, named after State Sen. McNeil Mitchell and New York Assembl…

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Finance Voting "Yes" to Flip Taxes
2005 Jul Voting "Yes" to Flip Taxes

In New York City, many co-ops and condos use a practice called a "flip tax" in order to boost building revenue. As most co-op and condo owners know, a flip tax is a fee paid to the building, either by the purchaser or seller, each time an a…

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Finance Refinancing in Today's Market
2005 Jul Refinancing in Today's Market

Today's economy is one, which has economists using words such as "perplexing" and "conundrum." Making predictions as to what the economy will do next week is difficult--trying to predict what will happen six months or a year down the road i…

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Finance Thinking Outside the Box
2005 Jul Thinking Outside the Box

While there's certainly no shortage of affluent co-op and condo buildings in New York City, it's a fact that a significant proportion of buildings are home to residents of more modest means--buildings for whom large capital improvement proj…

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Finance A Penny Saved
2005 Jul A Penny Saved

Everybody complains about money. It doesn't matter if you're a millionaire or just getting by from paycheck to paycheck--everyone is on the lookout for money saving possibilities. The same holds true for co-op and condo owners and share…

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Finance Who's in Charge?
2005 Jul Who's in Charge?

Any transfer of ownership of a cooperative unit will require the cooperative corporation to cancel the old stock certificate and issue a new one. Many see this step as a simple clerical task, and often it is the managing agents that keep th…

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Finance Board Hurdles
2005 Jul Board Hurdles

As a financial professional who has served metropolitan New York's cooperative community for over 25 years, I must say that this is probably the most challenging time in recent history. Everywhere we turn, rapidly escalating costs coupled w…

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