It's every homeowner's worst nightmare: you come home from work to find your apartment flooded, or your building smoldering from a kitchen fire that got out of control. After the initial trauma, there could be worse shocks in store if y…

Accidents happen. Things go wrong. It's a simple fact of life. And sometimes the only course of action is simply to protect against the consequences. Liability insurance takes the sting out of the unknown, creating a safety net for those w…

Before last September, chances are that most people didn't give much thought to whether acts of terrorism were covered by their homeowner's insurance. Co-op boards and condo associations were more concerned with whether their "all-risk"…

New Yorkers certainly wouldn't want to spend their summer being stuck in a crowded elevator or a hot, steamy subway car with no lights or air conditioning, especially when the temperature climbs to around 100 degrees. That is not a plea…

Just about every working person, from the busboy at your favorite diner to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, works under a job description that outlines their duties and establishes responsibilities and boundaries of authority. Your bui…

Everyone thinks their home looks like two million bucks, but in the world of banks and real estate agents, it takes a professional appraiser to prove it. Especially in the unique and ultra-competitive world of New York co-op and condo r…

New York City has always been a sometimes hectic, stressful place to live and work, and now - perhaps more than ever - New Yorkers can use all the tranquility they can get. Short-term fixes like day spas and weekends at the shore can hel…

On June 11, 2002, in one of the most significant court decisions affecting co-op and condo owners in recent years, the New York State Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the well-publicized case of 511 West 232 Street Owners Corp. v. Je…

When "A Six Step Program for Boards - Plan Ahead for a Healthy Financial Future" was published in The Cooperator back in 1996, very few boards were running their buildings like businesses, and even fewer had a long-range plan. While som…

Board members have a number of responsibilities and face many different challenges - and managing the building's finances is chief among them. But since most board members aren't trained financial professionals, what is the best way to m…