While the grid of streets and avenues may remain rigid and unchanging as the years go by, New York City’s neighborhoods are organic entities, constantly shifting and evolving as new features emerge and old ones fade away. Nowhere is thi…
Though often responsible for millions of dollars in property and charged with the oversight of complex building functions, few co-op/condo board members are real estate professionals. Board members are resident volunteers who come from …
Inefficiently-run board meetings are time-wasters that can make even the most enthusiastic board member cringe at the thought of an upcoming session. By contrast, a well-run board meeting can be a productive hour or two that benefits t…
Most co-op and condo residents understand that there is a board protecting the interests of their building community and individual owners—they’ve probably taken part in numerous board elections, or even served on committees, or volunte…
Unlike individual apartment owners’ insurance coverage, most co-op and condo buildings’ insurance policies are pretty standard—they include homeowners’ insurance, liability, and umbrella coverage. Usually, the common areas such as the ha…
Part of the process of bidding and hiring a contractor to work in your building is verifying their insurance coverage. Uninsured or inadequately insured contractors pose a serious threat to a co-op or condo community’s finances and can …
The economic crisis has affected many individuals, businesses and markets—the real estate and job markets, to name just two particularly nasty examples. Until now, one of the few industries that didn’t seem as deeply impacted was the ins…
Q “I am newly elected to the board of a small (32-unit), self-managed condominium, where traditionally there has been little transparency between the board of trustees and the unit owners. I have asked the board president several tim…
Q Our 200-unit condo association has seven delinquencies. Six of these cases have been delinquent for over a year. Liens are in place, and all are in the hands of our attorney for collection. Most are mortgaged past fair market value…
Q Do the shareholders in a New York City co-op have the right to obtain the tabulated results of a board of director’s election, rather than simply the names of the shareholders that won? If you are a shareholder who is running for th…