For most of us, there simply are not enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done. We rush to pick the kids up from school, make it to that impromptu work meeting that just got called, or even find the time to grab som…
Everyone wants to feel secure and have peace of mind when they lock their doors each night, but in a multifamily condo or co-op in New York City, you can’t always control who enters your building. Management may have service people come…
When co-op and condo owners plan their will, or a prenuptial agreement, their condo or co-op unit naturally comes into play as an important asset. Often, it’s no problem—the owner leaves the apartment to his or her spouse. It’s especiall…
Physically, there’s really no difference between co-ops and condos. The savviest property manager in the five boroughs could not walk into a lobby and say for certain if it’s one or the other. When co-ops are converted to condos, or vice…
How can you tell whether the on-site property manager at a cooperative, condominium or homeowners association community is doing a good job? And what is a 'good job' anyway? Whether a manager is well-liked and whether he or she manages…
Everybody sometimes disagrees with the decisions of their co-op, condo or homeowners association board. Maybe the choice to rearrange the garbage receptacles out front seems ridiculous, or the ongoing clattering of machinery on the roo…
Convenience and saving money are just a couple reasons why a co-op board or homeowners association would choose to self-manage a property. Though, outside managing firms and property managers are hired and employed for good reason. The…
Q My car was vandalized four times on the co-op’s property. We pay to park there each month. I have paid three times now for the repairs and I think the co-op should pay. There are no signs in the lot saying they are not responsible. …
Valerie Smaldone lives in a lovely, well-kept, prewar building in the Midtown East area, known as the Beekman area. Her building was built in the late 1920's and, among other amenities, has an extraordinary rooftop garden where she occ…
The worst of the recession—big-time failures of investment banks and mortgage companies, huge banks in trouble, companies laying people off in the thousands—may be over. There are some signs of hope, and residential buildings that were …