The 1990s were good times for those paying insurance premiums. "We had almost a decade of severe, severe cost cutting," says Coletta Kemper, vice president of industry affairs for the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers. "They were abou…
Should local banks be allowed to become actively involved in the real estate brokerage business? Specifically, should they have an administrative hand in the sale and management of units in co-ops and condos? These questions are curren…
Picture this: The power goes out in Washington Heights. When it comes back on in Washington Heights, it goes out in Clinton. When it comes back on in Clinton, it goes out in Battery Park City. And so on, across the city. Panic sets in, chao…
New Yorkers pride themselves on their ability to appreciate places and things that others often find dirty, oppressive, or just plain ugly. New York City itself is occasionally accused of being all three, yet New Yorkers remain fiercely loy…
With mortgages as common as they are today, most borrowers know the standard steps in securing a loan for a condo or co-op. In the simplest terms, a borrower must first pick a lending institution, be it a commercial bank or mortgage banker.…
The economic boom of the last few years has been a remarkable period of prosperity for the real estate industry in general, and co-ops in particular. Shareholders no longer need to feel trapped; the time is now for co-op boards to tackle th…
Out of concern over escalating property taxes, The Action Committee for Reasonable Real Estate Taxes was formed in 1990. Created by The Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums (CNYC), the committee uncovered a gross disparity betw…
"Foreclosure" is a word no co-op or condo owner wants to hear, but when residents fall behind on maintenance fees or common charges - when their financial burden becomes too large to shoulder - sometimes foreclosure can be the only answ…
A couple years ago, I became genuinely surprised to learn of conflicting opinions throughout the legal community and in court decisions (including rulings from New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division) which centered on how to clas…
Under the sweeping shade of the World Trade Center, something miraculous is happening—a neighborhood is coming to life. Once the enclave of intense financiers worried more about the bottom line than where they would hang their hats, Manhatt…