Physically, there’s really no difference between co-ops and condos. The savviest property manager in the five boroughs could not walk into a lobby and say for certain if it’s one or the other. When co-ops are converted to condos, or vice…
Unless you have a degree in accounting, your first board meeting could come as a bit of a shock. You probably knew board members oversee the finances of the corporation, but who knew there were so many records to produce and filing dea…
When the bank took back a Harlem condominium, the rest of the building's residents were stuck with years of unpaid arrears by the former resident. “There was a tremendous amount of arrears from about three or four years already accruing…
In December 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the United States was in a recession that had started back in December 2007. The official announcement was old news for most Americans. As the dust cont…
The 2011-12 legislative session is on in Albany as this article is being written, and bills of all kinds are being considered—including some with implications for co-op and condo owners and administrators across the state. Housing is al…
In the best of circumstances, qualifying an applicant for a co-op or condominium purchase can be a challenging process. Market conditions play a part in a board's consideration of applicants, and recent fluctuations have changed the wa…
Williamsburg suffers from multiple personality disorder. Just one subway stop away from Manhattan in the Brooklyn neighborhood, you’ll find a large Hasidic Jewish community, a glut of ethnic enclaves, including Polish, Puerto-Rican, Dom…
In today’s legislative world, housing is a big item. Rent-payers, condo owners, co-op shareholders, and developers all have their particular interests—and they don’t necessarily mesh. In the meantime, the ongoing recession threatens all …
One of the biggest issues in the real estate industry over the past year has been the speculation that government-sponsored mortgage programs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be ending. For the past 70 years, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac …
While the economy sputters along and unemployment rates remain steady at more than nine percent, there doesn't seem to be much call for celebration—but all is not gloom and doom. The real estate market has been one of the most notable c…