When you walk down many large commercial thoroughfares in New York, whether it’s Fifth or Madison Aevnue in Manhattan, Kings Highway in Brooklyn or Main Street in Flushing, you’re sure to notice many more empty stores than usual—living p…
Not so very long ago, pretty much any individual or corporate entity could get a loan quickly and easily, with only some cursory paperwork separating borrower from lender. The so-called subprime mortgage crisis put a stop to all that, a…
Even in the best of economic times, preparing a co-op or condo’s annual budget can be a tiresome task, fraught with uncertainty, estimations and shifting numbers. Factor in one of the most harrowing economic downturns in a century, with…
How many times have you seen a property that’s a mess and visually unappealing with so much furniture and furnishings that it is impossible to see anything? There are cracks that need spackling, walls that need cleaning, and floors that…
Few things annoy an apartment homeowner more than persistent low water pressure, be it at the shower, the kitchen sink or the toilet. So common the problem, one wonders what New Yorker hasn’t suffered from it and what property manager h…
Despite well-intended laws and protocols enacted in respective states, co-op and condo homeowners, organizations and associations are often faced with complicated, sometimes confusing issues related to building codes, zoning ordinances…
In today’s tough real estate market, people are searching for every advantage they can find when it comes time to sell their property. They’ll search out the best agent they can find. Or place ads in the highest circulation magazines. T…
Nothing can take the fun out of a design project faster than missed deadlines and cost overruns—and naturally, both problems usually go hand in hand. Even if a project is certain to increase a property’s value and/or curb appeal, the uph…
Good communication is key to making any relationship work—married or dating couple, parent and child, sibling to sibling, and best friend forever friendships. In the co-op and condo world, boards also have relationships—with vendors, des…
It's time to face the facts. The teal-and-salmon sofa that was purchased for your foyer may not exactly be in style any more. The window treatments that were chosen in the early 1990s no longer grace the pages of every design magazine so…