Page 5 - New York Cooperator February 2020

COOPERATOR.COM THE COOPERATOR — FEBRUARY 2020 5 v How many co-ops have you financed? What is your total dollar volume? With how many different lenders? What is the range of the loan size? Since 2011... $250,000 $550 + Million Meridian Capital Group ACME Mortgage 1820+ $8.77 Billion 27 ? MeridianCapital.com YOUR GUIDE TO INTERVIEWING UNDERLYING MORTGAGE BROKERS Steve Geller | Managing Director 212.612.0222 | sgeller@meridiancapital.com Nicoletta M. Pagnotta | Senior Vice President 212.612.0219 | npagnotta@meridiancapital.com Avi Geller | Vice President 212.612.0249 | ageller@meridiancapital.com Nobody closes more underlying co-op loans than Meridian. Shouldn’t you be working with NYC’s Most Active Dealmaker? Cooperator_Co-Op Interview_September 2019.indd 1 8/29/19 9:43 AM QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Legal Q A& Of Mice and Management Q There is a situation with mice in my co-op complex. A share- holder on the first floor con- tacted the super that she has been seeing mice in her unit. He said he was going to call a pest control company, but they nev- er showed up. The shareholder contacted the super again, and it took him over a week to take a look in the unit. According to the super, the mice are entering into the shareholder’s living room closet through a closed-off stairway inside the unit of another shareholder above her—yet there are no mice drop- pings in her closet. The super also said that she had to seal the stairs at her ex- pense because the mice are gaining access to her apartment through that stairway. (Picture walking underneath a staircase. Basically that space has been closed off and made into a closet in the upstairs unit). I am not a lawyer, but isn’t the stair- case structural, and therefore not her responsibility? If anything, shouldn’t it be the responsibility of the other share- holder above her, since the stairs are in their unit and cannot be accessed from any common area? My feeling is that the super and the management company do not want to take care of the problem, and my poor friend is suffering with anxiety and fear with the mouse situation. What should we do? —Pestered by Pests A “Under New York City Law,” says attorney Neil Garfinkel, managing part- ner of the New York City firm Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson, LLP, “a shareholder has a right to a livable, safe, and clean apartment, as well as clean public areas within the building. A share- holder has, whether stated in their pro- prietary lease or not, an implied warranty of habitability which cannot be waived. An infestation of rodents or insects is a possible violation of the implied warranty of habitability. “If a co-op has a rat or mouse infesta- tion, the co-op may have a duty to rem- edy these conditions within a reasonable time. However, if the infestation is caused by the shareholder, the shareholder can- not claim their implied warranty of habitability was breached, and it is the shareholder’s responsibility to fix the conditions. “If the infestation is not caused by a shareholder and the co-op does not reme- dy the conditions in a timely manner, the shareholder can elect to pursue his or her remedies under the co-op’s proprietary lease. However, before pursuing his or her remedies, the shareholder should no- tify the co-op in writing of the infestation and keep a record of this notice.” n Write to The Cooperator and we’ll publish your question, along with a response from one of our attorney advisors. Send your ques- tions to: darcey@cooperator.com. Q&A Disclaimer: Th e answers provided in this Q&A column are of a general nature and cannot substitute for professional advice regarding your specifi c circumstances. Always seek the advice of competent legal counsel or other qualifi ed profes- sionals with any questions you may have regard- ing technical or legal issues.