For over two decades, The Cooperator’s annual Co-op & Condo Expo has been a perennial save-the-date for anyone and everyone associated with the tri-state area’s co-op and condo building communities. Since 1987, vendors, service providers…

The phrase “jack of all trades” could have been coined simply to describe the profession of residential property manager. To succeed in this fast-paced business, a property manager has to master a wealth of information and skills. More i…

Timeshares have been around for decades, and these partial property ownership arrangements are more familiar to many people in part because of their increasing popularity. It’s easy to see why they are so popular: A family wants a vacation …

The best rule of thumb for boards is to act as ethically as possible. That way, shareholders will never have a problem with the decisions the board makes, right? Wrong. We live in an increasingly litigious society, where shareholder…

The current sessions in both Albany and in the New York City Council are now well under way, and housing-related bills are very much a part of the mix. Some of the bills have been around for years in one form or another, but that doesn’t…

In addition to their boards and managing agents, co-op and condo communities depend on the many workers who take care of building maintenance and residents’ needs. Building staff, maintenance workers, the super, and other employees are a…

Co-op and condo owners often complain that their board doesn’t do enough, or that the board members aren’t involved as much as they would like in the administration and maintenance of their building. While a disinterested or apathetic board…

Co-op apartment buildings were originally formed in New York City to allow building residents to buy into and have a say in how their building was administered, as well as who their neighbors were, and what those neighbors were allowed t…

Daisy Okas works for the American Kennel Club and obviously loves dogs, so when she was looking for an apartment for herself and Olive, her six-year-old beagle, there was no negotiation—she had to live in a pet-friendly building. Wh…

Q One of our board members has been president for many years. She runs the building on a unilateral basis, giving out very little information about the business of the condo. Unit owners have little influence because the she is elected by…