As 2007 came to a close, it seemed that the real estate market in nearly every part of the country had cooled. But in New York City, although movement had slowed, the market did not take a downturn as many had expected. Co-ops and condos…

Our co-op elected its new officers, as usual. However, this year, there were two  amendments to the proprietary lease, one for staggered board terms and the  other to change our transfer fee, or flip tax, from one month’s maintenance to two…

 Certain shareholders in our building keep some personal belongings (i.e., bikes,  baby strollers, skates) in the hallways next to their apartments. Sometimes we  have to squeeze by their hallway clutter to get to our own units. Is there an…

The original condo declaration, bylaws, amendments and house rules allow for  renovations without board approval to interior units if they do not affect  common area are not structural in nature. I installed a wall partition (does  not affe…

 My building has a rental apartment that was bought from a previous shareholder. Apparently, an amended document was not filed with the state attorney’s office, so there are still shares attached to this apartment. These shares were voted b…

I’m a president of a new condo and have no experience running one prior to this. There is an apartment in the condo that consistently has children dropped off. After some inquiry it turns out to be the children of relatives, around 4 or …

 The tenant below me smokes nonstop. Her windows are always fully open and the smoke travels directly into my  apartment above. My apartment smells like an ashtray and of course leaves us vulnerable to  second-hand smoke. Even with our wind…

The Cooperator headquarters in Midtown Manhattan again played host to a group of real estate industry professionals gathered to discuss their strategies and challenges, trade anecdotes (both the positive and not-so-positive), and me…

My family and I have been living in Glen Oaks Village in Queens for over 25 years. Originally built for the families of soldiers returning after World War II, the garden-style cooperative community is one of the largest in the New Y…

The Dakota. The San Remo. The Ansonia. Greenwich Village. Gramercy Park. DUMBO. New York City and its five boroughs are home to buildings and neighborhoods that are celebrities in their own right, and preserving the historic character an…