Q Does a cooperative board have the legal right to create their own occupancy guidelines? —Curious Cooperator A “The proprietary lease (sometimes called the “occupancy agreement” in certain co-ops) of a cooperative t…
While essential to the successful operation of all cooperatives or condominiums, the contents of governing documents are often only glossed over by otherwise well-intentioned boards members and managing agents leading to potential pitf…
Q My wife and I own the shares for our co-op apartment jointly. We wish to establish a revocable living trust for our assets and the apartment. Our co-op board is unwilling to make the transfer to the trust. How can we convince the boa…
New York's co-ops and condos are both governed by a multitude of laws and rules. For co-ops, the primary governing documents are the bylaws and the proprietary lease. For condos, they are the condominium declaration and, once again, the…
Q My wife and I own the shares for our co-op apartment jointly. We wish to establish a revocable living trust for our assets and the apartment. Our co-op board is unwilling to make the transfer to the trust. How can we convince the boar…
As a construction attorney I can say that it is rare that a change is made in the law which revolutionizes the design industry. Up until now, the laws in the State of New York only allowed architectural and engineering firms to be owned…
With homeownership comes great responsibility. For co-op and condo residents, part of that responsibility means sorting through the seemingly mile-high stacks of documents handed to you before, during and after the purchase process beg…
According to U.S. Small Business Administration statistics, over half of all small businesses begun in the last decade have been home-based—that's more than 24 million in real numbers—with a new home-based business being launched every 1…
Ari Meisel lives in a 4,000-square foot loft in a four-family co-op building in Soho—he also operates several green buildings, consulting and real estate businesses from the comfort of his own unit. He has lived in this building for his…
Q In a previous issue of The Cooperator, attorney C. Jaye Berger discusses the matter of allocation of costs by shares for services such as electricity and water, as opposed to person adjusted usage. I do not take issue with her com…