"¢ Borrower must be age 62 or older "¢ No monthly payment is required "¢ Must obtain co-op board approval in most cases "¢ Proceeds can be used for any purpose "¢ No financial reports, credit history or medical reports …
Arline Zatz grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, just a short distance away from Coney Island. She recalls that every summer she and her friends would take a short jaunt to the popular beach and amusement parks to lie on the sand and enjoy t…
One of the most popular attractions at The Cooperator's 17th Annual Co-op & Condo Expo this past March was the roster of seminars that ran throughout the day at the New York Hilton, drawing standing-room-only crowds to panel discussion…
Effective August 2, 2004, a new lead-based paint regulation will force New York City property owners to change the way they deal with lead based paint in their properties. "Local Law 1 of 2004," overseen by the Department of Housing Prese…
The primary function of a board of a co-op or condo is to operate, maintain, repair and preserve the common property. The board also has a responsibility to maintain the value of the property. Most boards develop an annual operating b…
Say the words "80/20 rule" to a New York City co-op board, and you may be met with groans and furrowed brows. A provision in Section 216 of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax code, the 80/20 rule limits the amount of commercial revenu…
With today's uncertain economy and the prices of everything from gas to insurance on the rise, maintenance increases may be on the horizon for thousands more co-op and condo owners this year. Shelling out money is never a pleasure, but tho…
New York City has been in the midst of a real estate boom for the last several years. Even with the economy in recession and the lingering effects of 9/11, homeowners have seen their apartments double, even triple in value in as little as …
Cooperative buildings should be run like businesses, with prudent investing and organized budgeting practices in place. As many buildings that have been on the brink of financial disaster can tell you, if you ignore these aspects of runnin…
In this and in future columns, I will be examining decisions of interest to co-ops and condo boards and suggesting what valuable lessons can be learned from these legal decisions. Recently, there were several interesting court decisi…