Q. If a board chooses not to conduct a criminal background check on either a prospective employee or purchaser, could the board and/or board members be liable if that person commits a crime or other misdeed against the property or residen…
In New York City, certain cooperative apartment buildings can receive substantial revenue by selling unused air rights. While potentially very lucrative, capitalizing on these opportunities requires navigating unique challenges, from antiqu…
In our current environment of steeply rising costs, it’s more important than ever to safeguard your reserves to ensure that your association has sufficient funds available for immediate and future capital projects. Unfortunately, many ass…
While some graffiti certainly qualifies as art, with many considering it a legitimate form of creative self-expression, its lesser variations—tagging, acid, markers, stickers, and ‘scratchitti’ (etchings carved into surfaces with knives, ra…
Self-managed communities large and small can save a considerable amount of money by eschewing third-party management and handling their day-to-day business in-house. This means the board must assume the tasks and responsibilities that commu…
Within any community, there will be disagreements. In shared interest communities, unfortunately those disagreements can sometimes lead to litigation. That litigation can take many forms: shareholder or owner vs. co-op or condominium, or v…
Every co-op, condo, and HOA resident has a stake in what happens in their community. Each decision—from financial oversight to building improvements—impacts everyone collectively. That’s why holding and attending annual board meetings is so…
According to a recent item on Global News Wire, Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey ® (PMMS) on May 15 showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.81%. "The 30-year fix…
The NYC City Council recently passed changes to Local Law 11 (LL11), which Mayor Adams recently signed into law. LL11 requires that all exterior walls of buildings taller than six stories—not just those facing the street—be professionally i…
The Department of Buildings announced that it is extending to June 30th the 2025 Benchmarking (LL84) deadline for all property owners required to submit energy and water use data for the calendar year 2024. The deadline was previously set f…