A little over a year ago tennis star Vitas Gerulitas went to bed in a friend's pool house on Long Island and never woke up. Unbeknownst to him, a faulty pipe was spewing a colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas into the air and with ea…

Landscaping is often associated with garden apartments that boast acres of land and rolling hills decorated with towering trees, bountiful flower gardens and lush courtyards. However, landscaping is just as important, if not more so, in …

If you were walking down the street and spotted a $100 bill on the ground, would you stop and pick it up? Of course you would, and in the literal sense you could consider this $100 found money. Surprisingly, every day, many members of co-…

The deregulation of the electric industry appears to be a sure thing, but there is still much confusion as to the particulars. Today the three most commonly asked questions concerning the deregulation of electricity are: When will it occu…

Many co-op and condo boards have realized that energy conservation is not only an issue of environmental importance, but also a key area in helping reduce their buildings' operating expenses. And the industry continues to offer a variety …

It's the dead of winter. Outside the temperature is below freezing. Your building is sending up heat, and you've got your windows open. What's going on? Why can't your building's heating system just make everyone comfortably warm instead …

Every 11 seconds a burglary is committed in the United States, according to the Department of Justice's most recent annual Unified Crime Reports. Even Mayor Giuliani, who is perpetually promoting the decrease in crime in New York, is not …

Two weeks after Angel Agostino renewed her small insurance policy with Ron Tepperman, Inc., a base- ment fire caused her apartment to burn down and she lost everything. I got insurance because I thought the roof would leak, Agostino expla…

When it comes to decision-making in your building, attending meetings in person is always best. But should the need arise, shareholders and unit owners are permitted to vote in board elections and other matters of corporate governance by pr…

Being elected to serve on the board of your co-op or condo can be viewed as a great honor or a dreadful burden. Those who look for the positive in any new situation will focus on the fact that their neighbors have confidence in their lea…