‘John’ (not his real name, in consideration of his and his neighbors’ privacy) has lived in co-op buildings for over 40 years, and in his particular co-op - a well-tended, 100% sold, mid-size building in Manhattan - for over two decades. Th…

Whether you’re a manager or a board member, running a co-op, condo, or HOA has never been an easy job. There’s always a capital project to fund, a contractor to hire, a dispute to resolve, a leak to repair … the list can feel endless.  Tha…

One of the most widely felt effects of New York City’s multiple efforts to fight climate change is the shift away from oil- and gas-fired heating plants to electric. These efforts have been, and continue to be, largely successful. One of th…

Local Law 97 (LL97), part of New York City’s drive to achieve a zero carbon footprint by 2050, looms large for both the city’s landlords and the boards of shared-interest communities. The cost of compliance is high, and the process complica…

Over the years, multifamily co-op and condominium buildings have been notorious for the plethora of restrictions many impose upon residents, from smoking bans to strict quiet hours to forbidding holiday displays. While many of these restric…

Q. If you live in a co-op and have a roommate, can’t you charge any amount of rent as long as your roommate agrees to it? As an example, if you live in a two-bedroom co-op and your maintenance is $2,500 per month, isn’t it legitimate to c…

Groucho Marx once famously said, “I wouldn’t belong to any club that would have me as a member.” Not so for many in the world of co-ops, condos, and HOAs.  Shared communities often (if not usually) have an application process required for p…

This publication spends a lot of time exploring and explaining the duties and purpose of multifamily boards—the benefits and drawbacks of serving on them, and even the difficulty that many buildings and communities have with motivating owne…

Imagine your dream home. Maybe it’s a beautiful apartment in the sky, or a dramatic townhouse overlooking a lake or golf course. Maybe it includes a state-of-the-art gym or pool—or both—only steps or floors away. In the mood for a movie? Wh…

As the days get longer, warmer, and more full of outdoor activity, multifamily boards and property managers must consider a whole new list of maintenance and preparation tasks to ready their buildings for the approaching summer. It’s finall…