Cons and hustles are as old as civilization itself. For as long as there have been goods and currency to collect and divide, there have been unscrupulous individuals who are ready to relieve the unwary consumer of their holdings. Banking…

As every board member knows, a realistic budget is essential to the financial health of their co-op or condo. Creating a workable budget is not an easy task: while you can use the current year's budget as a jumping off point, many expens…

Q We have a two-building, 146-unit cooperative that has a five-hundred-square-foot ground floor of commercial rental space. It has been vacant for about a month now. We, the board of directors, would like to know: Can this space be con…

Q We’ve had problems with a corrupt management in the past. I’m suspicious of our current management and several board members receiving  kickbacks from vendors. Are there any steps that I can take to find out if this  is repetition of ou…

Q In the event that a shareholder has a “dispute” with another shareholder—and claims that many other residents of the building have complained regarding  the same issue—but refuses to provide the names of other complainants—how should th…

Q Some members of my co-op board want to change our transfer fees upon sale to assign a lower per share fee for those shareholders who purchased after the year 2000. Their reasoning is that real estate values decreased after 2000. Othe…

Q I live in a co-op in Manhattan and am planning to renovate my bathroom. My managing agent has informed me that I must pay a $500 fee to file my application for the renovation, which seems unusual. The renovation is simple—to replace t…

When a townhouse exploded on Manhattan's Upper East Side last summer, New Yorkers ran terror-stricken into the streets. As smoke billowed from the wreckage, no one knew what had caused the explosion, or how many people had been hurt. Just t…

For all the incredible diversity embodied in its population of eight million people and the many industries that call it home, New York City has always been a center of commerce. The city was founded not by a nation but by a corporation—…

For the past two decades, The Cooperator's annual Co-op & Condo Expo has been a destination event for anyone and everyone associated with the tri-state area's co-op and condo building communities. Vendors, service providers, board member…