Having an apathetic, uncommunicative board is a big issue in many buildings and associations, but the opposite situation—a board that oversteps its authority—can be just as problematic. When a board does something it should not do, or fail…
Q I am the owner of an apartment in a co-op where I own about 9% of the outstanding shares. We are in the process of selling our apartment and were told that there would be about a 1% flip tax payable to the co-op after the sale. This fli…
Q Our building recently put in a gym. One board member has made himself the spokesman for the gym and emails our 80 members directly with cheerful updates and information. I have said that all communications to shareholders should come th…
Normally, a co-op, condo, or HOA management team is well-equipped to handle a wide variety of day-to-day matters, like leaky roofs and faulty garbage disposals. There are other bigger issues—such as embezzlement and fraud—that require outs…
While the exception rather than the rule, boards can run afoul leading an association into troubled waters. In some cases, certain rules are enforced over others or community funds are simply mishandled. And in other instances, trusted adv…
Condo and co-op communities are governed by an array of legal mechanisms, including state and local laws and the community's own governing documents. Governing documents such as the proprietary lease, condo declaration, bylaws, and house r…
Q I live in a condo community that is supposed to be represented by its board members and the board attorney but the two seemingly only serve themselves. In researching this board attorney, I am finding that he writes for several newslett…
Our board of directors has not made a decision regarding a request for accommodation from a disabled senior shareholder. How can the rest of the shareholders separate ourselves should the board or the cooperative ever be sued or fined over …
I live in a New York City condo. There are a total of 204 apartments, 140 of which are privately owned and rented by their owners, and 64 which are occupied by their owners. My question is the following: Can 6 members of a board of 7 decide…
Often, the best, most successful boards and communities share the same combination of habits and traits; all the while, the worst, least successful boards and communities share the same habits and traits, as well. Case in point: there isn’…