Several interesting court decisions regarding co-ops and condos were made during the latter part of 2005. The decisions received some commentary, but perhaps not the attention that they deserve. In a condo case, the Appellate Court tha…
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 sh…
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 boa…
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 man…
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 t…
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 th…
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 wors…
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…
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 mak…
While not a common practice, boards of directors of New York cooperatives have, at times, reached the decision to evict a shareholder based on objectionable conduct. Nearly every cooperative corporation's proprietary lease contains a sectio…