Although the budget and tax cuts occupy the public agenda in these recessionary times, housing is still as big an issue as ever. Many housing-related bills, including those specifically related to co-ops and condos, have been introduced…
With homeownership comes great responsibility. For co-op and condo residents, part of that responsibility means sorting through the seemingly mile-high stacks of documents handed to you before, during and after the purchase process beg…
Co-op and condo boards are made up of resident volunteers who want to serve their building communities and have a hand in its governance. While some board members actually make their living as attorneys and have a working knowledge of …
As the directors of a cooperative corporation, co-op board members have a number of duties to their shareholders, chief among them to preserve and improve their investment and to maintain and/or improve shareholders’ standard of living …
As gasoline prices rise with increasing summer demand, building administrators' attention has turned sharply to the cost of energy, and ways to trim fat from their overall energy budgets. Yet for the nation’s nearly 60 million…
In the course of human events, it's almost inevitable that somewhere, at some point, tempers will flare and someone will say something awful about someone else. It can happen after the PTA meeting, in the gym, at the office...even in o…
You may live in the most well-run and self-sufficient building in the city, but even in Gotham, no building is an island. Developments from Penn South in Manhattan to Co-op City in the Bronx to the small six-story condo building in the…
Despite some admissions of error from the city, and a temporary cap on increases in assessed valuations, co-op officers and elected officials from Eastern Queens who in recent weeks have declared a “tax revolt” aren’t backing down. …
Q Is it true that the board can deny a refinancing application and not give a reason? Does a reason need to be provided on request? —Inquisitive Owner A “Assuming that the proprietary lease for the particular coope…
Q Our Queens co-op recently had elections. I wanted to run for the board, however management stepped in and told me that I was unable to run for the board since I am months in arrears. Is the management company allowed to tell me not…
Q My aunt owns a condo. The condo on top of hers had a plumbing problem that was leaking to her bathroom. They opened a hole in her wall to see the condition of the pipes and they were rusty and with leaks. Is the building association r…