Creating and adhering to an operating budget is a delicate financial balancing act that boards, management, and staff do every year in buildings and associations all across the country. The object is to predict expenses, balance cash inflow…

They are subjects no one ever really wants to discuss: death and divorce. But when it comes to safeguarding an asset as valuable as a family co-op or condo,  those discussions become imperative, however uncomfortable they may be. Should the…

Supers, building managers, maintenance persons, custodial staff, groundskeeping personnel, porters, doormen, concierges—depending on the size of a community, the staff roster for a condo, co-op, or HOA can be pretty long. The truth is, in t…

Most people go about their days paying little attention to the labor performed by those who make their lives easier. From transit workers to service employees to government officials, how often does one stop to thank the people making every…

Community living – the very basis of co-op, condo and HOA life — is based on the idea of trust. In a community of potentially hundreds or thousands of residents, every resident can’t be involved in the making of every decision. Too many coo…

A condominium, cooperative, or homeowners’ association elects a board for a specific purpose: to manage the community’s day-to-day business, oversee special projects, and draft and uphold the rules and regulations that keep life orderly and…

Upgrading, retrofitting, or replacing building equipment and fixtures can be a tough sell -- sometimes it's hard to get residents to understand that money spent now can mean even more money saved later. In this quick clip, find out about te…

In August, the New York Post reported that Eddie Wong, a resident of a luxury Greenwich Village co-op, was accused of  "watching a 30-year-old neighbor through her bedroom window after she got out of the shower." According to the story,…

Like just about everything else we encounter and use every day, the lines of communication in a co-op or condo building have been scrutinized, analyzed, and updated for the cyber age. The question is whether that new approach has made co-op…

It appears that an Upper West Side co-op scored a legal victory over Madonna -- for now. The pop music legend's lawsuit against the Harperley Hall co-op over the issue of occupancy was dismissed by a Manhattan judge because she a…