Few situations in life require you to lay bare your financial health and history in such full-color detail the way buying a co-op does. While it may be stressful and time-consuming to prepare and share all the documents required for evaluat…
When buyers purchase apartments, they also purchase access to the condo or co-op’s shared amenities. Depending on the scale and financial demographics of the building, those amenities could be substantial; during the real estate boom of the…
While state and local governments implement energy-saving incentive programs and more buildings are either being retrofitted or built with next-generation energy-saving technology, the habits of unit owners and shareholders still impact a b…
Every co-op, condo, and HOA must elect a board of directors to oversee the community’s finances, physical maintenance, and other day-to- day operations. While board elections don’t rise quite to the level of a state or even local election i…
While current technology allows one to access almost infinite information in real time, history allows one to look back. And for many New Yorkers, the city’s rich architectural tradition is inscribed in the countless prewar buildings that p…
Dana Greco, a therapist specializing in marriage counseling and divorce mediation lived in a comfortable two bedroom co-op on New York’s Upper West Side near Columbia University. Divorced herself and with grown children, her apartment was …
Although it may sometimes feel as if our pets have the run of the land, humans are still the masters of their own domains. In order to maintain this status quo—especially in a communal environment such as a condominium, cooperative or homeo…
It’s often tough to get co-op, condo, and HOA residents interested in joining their building or association’s board. No one wants to work a second job if they don’t have to—especially one that doesn’t pay—but regardless, there’s important w…
There will be times when a board is not able to carry out a building-related project for several reasons, such as time constraints, more urgent matters, or just a lack of enthusiasm. But whatever the reason is, there's still hope that a pro…
Even the most established, well-run board can benefit from some new energy and fresh ideas. Here, management pros give their thoughts on how to encourage residents to get involved with their board.