You live alone. You work long hours. When you aren't home, you turn off all the lights and the air conditioning. You do everything you can to conserve energy. Your neighbors, on the other hand, have five kids and are home all the …

An elderly retired couple, married for 40 years, recently sold their ten-room suburban home for a simpler three-room Manhattan condominium. They lead an active social life, often entertain their three children and five grandchildren for…

It's a typical scenario. The board and managing agent assemble for the regular monthly meeting. Things get lively and everyone participates. The group discusses staff issues, makes decisions about the tile color in the laundry room and dire…

When it comes to key security, most co-op shareholders and other tenants have no choice but to trust in their building manager. That's because New York state law requires tenants to provide landlords with duplicate keys, if requested. Wheth…

Lucky are the board members of co-ops and condos who are able to play a purely supervisory role, simplyoverseeing the work of the managing agent who has the serious job of taking care of the building. In the vast majority of cases, however,…

This truth may not be self-evident, but in a co-op all shareholders are not created equal. Virtually every Offering Plan provides for a special class of shareholderscalled Holders of Unsold Shareswho are routinely granted privileges not e…

roperty management is a challenging field that appeals to quick- thinking, high energy individuals. Besides excellent number crunching skills, a good property manager must also demonstrate a keen knowledge of crisis intervention, not to m…

Board members don't always see eye to eye. In a tragic case in Boynton Beach, Florida, an argument over the number of votes needed for a quorum led to the accidental death of a 70-year-old board member. During a discussion about the upcomin…

In the 1980s, at the height of the conversion movement, many New Yorkers were thrilled because they were able to buy apartments at a great insider's price. But, for some, the dream of owning their own home turned sour. Imagine learning tha…

Several years ago, before relocating to Westchester County, I served as board president at my 112-unit co-op building in Manhattan. Like most co-ops, we had a history of occasional disputes between tenants and among board members. But, by u…