Earthquake insurance is very common in California, for obvious reasons—but what about New York City? Tremors may be vanishingly rare here, but nonetheless, Arthur A. Schwartz's Manhattan condominium building has earthquake insurance, and he…
Q Until last year, our board was elected at the general meeting, with shareholder votes weighted by the number of shares they owned, and with these votes cast as one vote each for seven of the candidates (that being the total number of …
New York City's NoMad [North of Madison Square Park] neighborhood has always flown under the radar, but recently the area has exploded in popularity among New York City's elite. Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and her financier husba…
Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito shook ceremonious hands over New York City’s budget a week before it was due, after the mayor reversed his position on hiring new police officers. Thanks to strong local ec…
Sometimes the future seems like it’s an awfully long way away. If a roof is going to last 30 years, why should we worry about it today? Same with that shiny new boiler or that flat, crack-free pavement just poured two summers ago. Eventuall…
Those of us without engineering degrees tend to take the buildings in which we live and work for granted. We simply assume that if we go indoors, the ceiling isn't going to suddenly collapse. Of course, buildings can remain upright and stru…
Taking care of a condo or co-op building’s budget and finances is a big job. Handling such large sums of money is an important responsibility, and not every shareholder or unit owner has the expertise to do the job well. Sure, most people k…
Imagine sitting down with your significant other to pay the monthly bills. You both put your checks into a joint account and know how much there is to take care of expenses, or so you think. Out of his wallet your husband pulls out receipts…
Q In our co-op association, we have new owners who have not registered their new certificates. Some have owned for a period as long as four years. Others have purchased as corporations and all it seems have children or parents living i…
Q I am the owner of an apartment in a co-op where I own about 9% of the outstanding shares. We are in the process of selling our apartment and were told that there would be about a 1% flip tax payable to the co-op after the sale. This fli…