Like it or not, e-mail is a permanent fixture of contemporary business communications. In real estate, board members and property managers use e-mail to discuss the most official and the most personal matters of their lives, from schedul…
It is an annual rite of passage for owners of co-ops and condos. Once a year or thereabouts, they gather in a common area—in my co-op in Astoria it was the basement, right off the washers and dryers—and vote for next year’s board. Someti…
It’s a scorching 92 degrees in Manhattan and many city-dwellers are dreading the traffic-filled ride to the beach or the long bus or rail commute to the Hamptons. But for some lucky co-op and condo owners, relief—in the form of an in-hou…
If you live in a condo or co-op in New York City, your building is obviously protected with insurance—but do you really know about the various layers of protection standing between your community and a broad array of risk factors? Does y…
It’s capitalism’s most basic tenet: supply and demand. When supply is sparse and demand high, prices go up. When supply is plentiful however, prices go down—and suppliers are forced to diversify their offerings in order to distinguish th…
Just like in our own personal budget, it seems that the everyday expenses of a co-op or condominium building just keep going up. Among the most prevalent cost hikes, as readers surely know, are fuel, salaries, repairs and the price of ma…
Workers’ compensation, according to the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, is insurance that provides cash benefits and/or medical care for workers who are injured or become ill as a direct result of their job. Employers—an…
Q I have a question regarding running for the board of directors, particularly the election rules. Can shareholders submit a candidate filing form after the filing deadline? The form was posted and the date has passed. Can the board accep…
Q I own an apartment in a building that was constructed in 1889. The floors in the apartment slope as the building has settled over the years. Recently, the bathroom floor has cracked and is showing signs of sinking. I’m afraid the suppor…