Whether a community is surrounded by suburbs or big-city high-rises, a little greenery can go a long way in adding visual appeal – and value. In fact, given the lack of space and the challenge of keeping plants healthy and thriving, urban g…
Like people, buildings age. Even under the best of circumstances, weather – particularly water, in the form of rain, snow, and ice – followed by or combined with extremes in temperature can do permanent damage to facades, cornices, parapets…
One of the biggest perks of modern multifamily living is the all-inclusive, amenity-rich building or HOA. Depending on your own building’s offerings, you can go to the gym, swim, have a spa treatment, entertain your kids in the community pl…
Spring has arrived, which is good news after what has felt to many like a particularly hostile winter. In a community association or multifamily building, spring also brings a number of seasonal maintenance and sprucing-up projects that can…
Living in a co-op, condo or community association can simplify a lot: maintenance issues that keep single-family homeowners up at night aren’t a concern for condo dwellers, and there may even be a door person or concierge to sign for packag…
After many years of expansion and growth nationwide, most co-op and condominium markets saw both turbulence and some overall decline in 2018. The market has turned from one favoring sellers to one more hospitable to buyers. Markets like sta…
When everyday problems arise in a multifamily building or community association, residents frequently turn to their friendly neighborhood jack-of-all-trades: the superintendent (Depending on where you live, you might call him or her your bu…
2018 – and the first half of 2019 – have been anything but dull, from the global level all the way down to co-op, condo and community association communities. While it’s somewhat beyond The Cooperator’s scope to opine on geopolitical curren…
Perhaps the most critical element in a successful marketing campaign for a co-op or condo unit is the price. Well, how is that price determined? What factors are considered? Whose expertise is needed to arrive at the optimum number? Is …
As community members, co-op and condo owners work together to maintain the greater structure in which they live – not just their individual units. Major systems – things like boilers, roofs, and facades – are expensive to maintain and repai…
Running a community association requires boards and managers to work with people from all walks of life, including those who have unique experiences, wants, needs, and challenges. That may also apply to people with behavioral or mental heal…
Community associations are increasingly looking toward environmentally-friendly options to heat, cool and power their properties in order to reduce their carbon footprint and save money. Wind turbines, solar panels, combined heating and pow…
It’s been a long time since most people have felt comfortable just leaving their front doors unlocked. For better or worse, security has become the order of the day – and technology follows security needs. Today, that path leads to electr…
Q. I am a former board member who held the office of secretary. I have a question pertaining a stock certificate. I signed a stock certificate regarding a shareholder (who died in 2010) that was approved by the previous board and issued i…
Q. My fiancé and I share a co-op, and we are not getting along. I want out, but he doesn’t. The co-op is in both our names. So what would happen? Do we have to sell and vacate? Truth be told, he no longer wants to be with me. I want to se…
Q. I have an upstairs co-op shareholder who hosts four grandchildren every weekend, and allows them to run, jump, stomp, and roughhouse late into the evening from the time they arrive on Friday until they leave on Sunday around 9:00 pm. A…