Any relationship depends upon effective communication to function properly. In a co-op or condo, the relationship between the board and managing agent, or between the board and the shareholders, all have boundaries regarding what is acce…
Most co-op and condo boards that hire managing agents, rather than manage themselves with in-house staff, are reasonably satisfied with them. After all, the managers are presumably trained and experienced professionals. But now and …
Until recently, Claudia Tracey worked full time in a position that required an extensive amount of travel. At the same time she was, and still is, board president at Hampton Vistas Condominiums in Manorville, New York, which just went th…
Having sat on a board for almost ten years, I continue to be astonished at how little most volunteers know about what the job entails. While it is important to volunteer your time for this position, there are things you must know in advance…
On last season’s “The Apprentice” reality show, celebrities volunteered their time to team up and compete, not for a job with the Donald Trump organization, but to win a large donation to their favorite charity. The show’s concept is to…
Like it or not, e-mail is a permanent fixture of contemporary business communications. In real estate, board members and property managers use e-mail to discuss the most official and the most personal matters of their lives, from schedul…
It is an annual rite of passage for owners of co-ops and condos. Once a year or thereabouts, they gather in a common area—in my co-op in Astoria it was the basement, right off the washers and dryers—and vote for next year’s board. Someti…
Two months ago, Sam Levy felt like he was spending more time on the phone with Time Warner than with his girlfriend Nikki. Levy, who lives in western Brooklyn, a region served exclusively by Time Warner, was having trouble with his cable…
Although the position offers little compensation apart from the satisfaction of a job well done, building board members are still in charge of running a business—a business with revenues, expenses, and assets. Regardless of the size of the …
Most board members are volunteers—some may have experience with certain aspects of running a building, but most come to the job relatively green, armed only with a sense of responsibility and a desire to serve their building community. S…