Q I live in a condo community that is supposed to be represented by its board members and the board attorney but the two seemingly only serve themselves. In researching this board attorney, I am finding that he writes for several newslett…

Condo and co-op communities are governed by an array of legal mechanisms, including state and local laws and the community's own governing documents. Governing documents such as the proprietary lease, condo declaration, bylaws, and house r…

While the exception rather than the rule, boards can run afoul leading an association into troubled waters. In some cases, certain rules are enforced over others or community funds are simply mishandled. And in other instances, trusted adv…

During the winter season, life isn’t exactly a walk in the park for your typical New York City building. Freezing rain and wind beat at the façade relentlessly; snow accumulates on the roof and turns to ice, then thaws and seeps into co-op…

The Dakota co-op building is one of the most iconic New York City apartment buildings, home to many cultural luminaries, including the late, legendary singer-songwriter John Lennon. But what makes the Dakota—along with many other historic …

How solid is the ground on which you walk and drive upon in your community? The answer might surprise you, as could the amount of money that might be seeping from your community’s reserve fund from unnecessary repairs to driveways, parking…

Windows can dramatically change any space, from transforming a tiny kitchen into a front row seat to a glorious skyline to morphing a standard upstairs bedroom into a perfect perch for an ocean view. Windows bring vast life and light to an…

Most board members and managers in New York City’s co-op and condo buildings know the drill when it comes to Local Law 11 inspections, meaning inspections of the exterior walls of buildings in the city that are more than six stories. The l…

Brick, stone, steel and glass…the exteriors of New York’s co-op and condo buildings are as recognizable as the skylines they form. Keeping them current and shapely is the responsibility of the boards and managers who oversee each residenti…

We have a co-op building with 47 apartments. The original sponsor (say Owner A) established the co-op long ago. In 2012, he sold his ten apartments to Person B, then B sold them to C in 2013. As per the offering plan, Owner A is a sponsor. …