If you thought asbestos was a problem, wait until you hear about lead. Found in 57 million private homes in the United States (two million in New York City), lead-based paint poisons young children, reduces IQs, and causes learning disabili…
It has been compared to a trip to the dentist and a police interrogation. The very mention of it makes potential buyers' knees tremble and sets brokers' eyes rolling heavenward. What could strike such apprehension in even the most jaded New…
One of the most difficult decisions boards of co-ops and condos have to make is who should manage their buildings. While boards are obviously looking for management that has both the qualifications and experience to handle a building such…
Anyone who has spent time serving on the board of his or her co-op or condo knows that it is a job that no one can do alone. Even if you have the most conscientious group of board members, the job is too time-consuming for a group of volunt…
While real estate brokers live by the old adage, Location, Location, Location, accountants define their relationships with the real estate community with another phrase: Communication, Communi-cation, Communication. While cooperatives and c…
Times change and your building's house rules should change along with them. A decade may have passed since your house rules were first written or last updated. In that time, the City has passed stringent new anti-smoking and recycling law…
Unlike most places in America, Manhattan does not have a multiple listing service, a directory that outlines all the properties currently for sale in a given region. Instead, New Yorkers rely on real estate brokers to get the word out that …
In June 1992, the board of directors of a 160-unit co-op in Port Chester, New York made the same decision that countless boards have made before and since: They rejected the proposed sale of an apartment within their property. However, in…
A co-op or condo that embarks upon the road to self-management is committed to undertaking the supervision and administration of the building without the assistance of an outside full-service property management firm. There are, however, va…
All too often boards of co-ops and condos find themselves at the mercy of the conversion sponsor. Wielding his influence over the building and all its affairs, the sponsor's goals are frequently in contrast with those of the board and build…