In today’s harsh economic times, maintaining a healthy reserve fund is more important than ever. A co-op or condo’s reserve fund can be used to cover any number of emergency expenses from sudden repairs to legal costs. In addition, a re…
Those who handle the management of any kind of residential building deal with contractors and contracts regularly—but they aren’t the only ones who should know about the process. It’s not necessarily an arcane topic—whether the project i…
It’s amazing how good building owners and managers are at increasing and garnering revenue from residential tenants while at the same time leaving themselves to the will and whim of laundry room operators who impose contracts lasting fo…
It sounds like an urban legend—something that supposedly happened to your cousin’s friend’s cousin. A little girl was at a barbecue party at a friend’s house, frolicking in the pool with friends. She swam to the drain at the bottom of th…
Most people assume that the board of directors runs the building. Actually the responsibilities for maintaining the building are usually divided between the board of directors and the managing agent. Both parties perform their functions…
Workers’ compensation, according to the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, is insurance that provides cash benefits and/or medical care for workers who are injured or become ill as a direct result of their job. Employers—an…
One impact of climate change is being felt as natural disasters of increasing frequency and strength are causing extensive damage to homes and businesses. The four hurricanes of 2005—Katrina, Rita, Wilma and Dennis—caused more than $57 b…
Lawsuits are an unfortunate, often expensive fact of life these days, and co-op and condo communities are not immune from seeing the inside of a courtroom, or at least a lawyer's office suite. An issue that arises between a resident and …
Apartment buildings, whether cooperatives or condos, are inherently fragile. When that many units share the same plot of land, and the same walls, the same floors, the same elevators and stairways, standpipes and boilers, lobbies and roo…
Q I’m a board member of co-op building. We have one member of the board who is a real estate broker. He brought one issue to our attention. Our co-op is an owner of a very small piece of land that is adjacent to another building near o…