Gone are the days when friends and associates corresponded with each other via long, handwritten letters on lovely watermarked paper. Today, most of what gets said and done is done so via e-mail; it's faster, easier, and more convenient th…
Returned quicker than a phone call and, lately, more powerful than a postal letter, e-mail has become the superman of communication for all facets of life. Today, not only are e-mails used in everyday business and for personal communicatio…
Property managers have a lot to keep track of - board and shareholder meetings, maintenance issues, and a host of other concerns that go along with managing a building - or in some cases several buildings - in a metropolitan area like New …
There are a lot of things people consider when they look into buying a condo or co-op in New York City. Location is important, safety is an issue, and the size of the space is always a factor. But one thing that may get overlooked is the i…
Most of the time, "communication" and "openness" are watchwords for boards and management. Clear, transparent communication between boards, managing agents, and shareholder/owners should be right up there with "location, location, location"…
Of all the members of a co-op building's board, the treasurer is in a unique position to uphold the fiduciary responsibility of the corporation, similar to that of a chief financial officer in the corporate world. Basically, "the tre…
Serving on a co-op board or condo association certainly has its advantages. Not only does the position give shareholders a chance to have more say in how their community is run, it helps add to their knowledge and understanding of what goe…
Even though subletting is often frowned upon by boards and sometimes forbidden outright, that doesn't stop shareholders all over the city from renting out their co-ops. Shareholders may sublet as a means of making money on an apartment tha…
With any sort of multifamily housing arrangement comes the possibility of a certain amount of conflict between the various involved parties: shareholders, board members, management, and sponsors. In theory, a key role of a board of directo…
Lots of people talk about the stress and uncertainty of the approval process in New York City's co-op and condo buildings; all that scrutiny, all that paperwork! But the endless reams of forms and files take another toll as well - on the e…