Every month you break out the checkbook to pay your maintenance fees for your co-op. Naturally you expect that those fees go toward maintaining the upkeep of your residence. But for whatever reason, something goes wrong. It can be an infe…
The first of the month rolls around and it’s time to pay the bills that keep your building operational. Repairs might need to be made, staff salaries paid, maintenance done to keep all the common elements running, and supplies reordered. Th…
Amenities can be a major selling point for any co-op or condo. You don't have to be Jillian Michaels these days to have a spa or full gym at home. Naturally, they add to the property value of the building as a whole, as well as to the indiv…
Running a co-op, condo or HOA is a business, and like most businesses, proper budgeting is the key to financial health. Just like businesses, associations usually have two separate yet vitally important budgets. The first budget is the day…
Who wouldn’t want to be on the board of directors of their co-op or condo, watching over their most precious possession and probably their most significant investment—their home? Most people, actually. It’s a rare co-op or condom…
In today’s economy, co-ops and condos are looking for ways to cut costs wherever they can, and many are turning to examining their legal bills. The problem is two-fold: first off, you don’t want to compromise your relationship with your…
It is one of life’s eternal questions: is it possible to have too much of a good thing? That question certainly can apply to the matter of long-serving board members: those individuals who get elected and re-elected term after term and …
They say there are eight million stories in the naked city, and when you’re an attorney working for a co-op or condo in New York, you may find that some of the best of them are happening to you. While some may think that handli…
Every co-op and condo association has its own house rules—rules and regulations (hopefully) based on common sense and aimed at protecting residents' safety and quality of life without undue disruption or inconvenience. Most un…
Last December, The William Beaver House, located at the heart of New York’s Financial District, sat with 209 of its 320 units unsold—units priced from $900,000 to well over $2 million each. Unfortunately, while sales had gone well for th…