New York City condo owner John Doe lost his job and couldn’t pay his bills. Eventually, the bank foreclosed on the mortgage to his condominium apartment, and Joe was forced to move. On his way out the door, the disgruntled Mr. Doe—who alway…
The presence of unfamiliar cooking aromas, 'foreign' music in the hallways, multilingual chatter in the elevators, and increasing numbers of younger newcomers collecting their mail in the lobby alongside older longtime residents—these are s…
Earthquake insurance is very common in California, for obvious reasons—but what about New York City? Tremors may be vanishingly rare here, but nonetheless, Arthur A. Schwartz's Manhattan condominium building has earthquake insurance, and he…
A fire breaks out in an apartment building; A broken water pipe floods several floors; A resident collapses in the lobby with a heart attack; An intruder roams the premises, possibly with criminal intent. In each case, fire rescue and poli…
In a dense urban or sprawling suburban environment, people can still feel isolated. While high-rise residential buildings and suburban subdivisions put many people and families in very close proximity to one another, living side-by-side do…
Community living' in the context of a co-op or condo building means abiding by a set of rules and regulations designed to serve the community’s best interests and maintain property values. The building board makes the rules, and the reside…
Whether a building is a luxury high rise with an in-house movie theater, rooftop pool, and climate-controlled wine cellar or a much more modest low-rise or townhome community with a simple community room or gazebo, managing common amenitie…
In a multifamily building with scores, possibly hundreds of people living under one roof, cooking, cleaning, dusting and breathing, it’s no surprise that the airways, chutes and garbage rooms of these buildings can get clogged and dirty ov…
While the vast majority of one-time projects and long-term service contracts involving vendors and service providers and their co-op, condominium or HOA clients go smoothly and either conclude or continue without incident, a small perc…
How can you tell whether the on-site property manager at a cooperative, condominium or homeowners association community is doing a good job? And what is a 'good job' anyway? Whether a manager is well-liked and whether he or she manages…