During the real estate boom of the last decades, many new condo buildings used to use extravagant amenities as a tool for new buyers. Marble-top counters, exercise rooms, Jacuzzis, free cars for buyers, childrens' playrooms, computer lo…

 As the recession has lingered on since 2008, co-op and condo buildings  throughout the city—from luxurious downtown buildings to middle-income and lower-income walkups—have found more of their residents in arrears with their monthly fees.…

 The day-to-day costs of running a multifamily residential building are  significant. There’s the fuel oil, electric, cleaning supplies, equipment maintenance and service  calls for repair and upkeep. Then there are the insurance costs, la…

 Tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes—these are just a few of the devastating disasters that have made headlines  already in 2011 and the emergency situations that resulted many never thought  possible.    As the past year’s calamitous …

 Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of the recent recession was the sudden  evaporation of credit from major banks and lending institutions. The logic  behind it was understandable: too much easy credit had led, in part, to the  col…

Q My aunt owns a condo. The condo on top of hers had a plumbing problem that was leaking to her bathroom. They opened a hole in her wall to see the condition of the pipes and they were rusty and with leaks. Is the building association r…

Q Our Queens co-op recently had elections. I wanted to run for the board, however management stepped in and told me that I was unable to run for the board since I am months in arrears. Is the management company allowed to tell me not…

Q Is it true that the board can deny a refinancing application and not give a reason? Does a reason need to be provided on request? —Inquisitive Owner A “Assuming that the proprietary lease for the particular coope…

Despite some admissions of error from the city, and a temporary cap on increases in assessed valuations, co-op officers and elected officials from Eastern Queens who in recent weeks have declared a “tax revolt” aren’t backing down. …

 You may live in the most well-run and self-sufficient building in the city, but  even in Gotham, no building is an island. Developments from Penn South in  Manhattan to Co-op City in the Bronx to the small six-story condo building in  the…