People like to think that they can do anything they darn well please within their own walls so long as no laws are being broken. Want to paint your walls purple and your ceilings green? Who’s gonna stop you? In the mood for loud music an…
Co-op boards and homeowners’ associations maintain building-specific bylaws, rules and regulations, and are responsible for making sure they are enforced. The certificate of incorporation, the proprietary lease and the bylaws are like a …
Unless you’re a Broadway star, the thought of having a spotlight pointed at you probably is not that appealing. No doubt, most prospective co-op buyers feel that kind of “center of attention” pressure when it comes time to go before the boa…
Sometime in the future, perhaps, teleporters like those seen on Star Trek will be a reality. Every co-op and condo building will have one—not for purposes of travel, but for storage. Until technology allows us to beam our bins and boxes …
Managing a co-op or condo community is far from an easy job. Six managing agents from some of the city’s top firms recently participated in the continuing series of roundtable discussions hosted by The Cooperator and the Federation of Ne…
Whether you’re part of a giant co-op the size of Co-op City, a 21-story building with over 15,000 residential units, or a small 25-unit condo in Staten Island, whether your building is self-managed or uses a management company, your b…
In many ways, a co-op or condo building is a lot like a tiny democratic nation. Like an independent state, a building elects its leaders, and those leaders have certain responsibilities to the people who elected them. Each “citizen” of the …
Whether you’re part of a giant co-op the size of Co-op City, a 21-story building with over 15,000 residential units, or a small 25-unit condo in Staten Island, whether your building is self-managed or uses a management company, your boar…
Attracting new members to join your board of directors may be a daunting task. As current board members, you know that occasionally you need new members to keep the business of your co-op running smoothly—but people are often reluctant t…