Category: Building Operations

Planning for what happens to your estate upon your death is never a pleasant chore, but if you own property of any kind, that planning is an vital responsibility. While there are many aspects and legal mechanisms that can be considered…

 With land so developed, it is sometimes impossible for New York City property  owners to build, repair or improve their own property without accessing their  neighbor’s. But if your neighbor is unwilling to grant you access, what is your …

 Just take a walk around the streets and parks of the city, and it’s easy to see that New Yorkers love their pets. But not everyone loves animals,  of course—and this can be problematic when it comes to a board deciding if pets should be  …

In early 2009, at the urging of President Barack Obama, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) with a view toward easing the blow dealt to the economy by what some are calling the Great Recession. The ARRA ha…

Criminals like Bernard Madoff and other so-called “white collar” lawbreakers have made headlines recently with their financial double-dealings, but unfortunately, fiscal mismanagement and fraud also happen in co-op and condo communities…

A short distance away from this writer’s “regular,” non-Cooperator job in Downtown Brooklyn is a large, empty edifice, a former industrial building. A year or so ago, the conversion of this building to condos was a big deal—a sales offi…

Almost any veteran property manager can tell tales of buildings that have fallen on rough times thanks to the economic meltdown of the last few years. Some have been beset by multiple unit foreclosures, others are dealing with defaultin…

While the majority of co-op and condo communities in New York hire professional management firms to handle their day-to-day operations, many others choose to go the self-managed route, which can include hiring on-site staff or having r…

At one point or another, we’ve all felt like this: I gotta go to the dry cleaners, get the computer fixed, pick up groceries after the ballet recital, wait, a client meeting just popped up, oh, and I have to make reservations …

Managing a portfolio of co-ops and condos can be an adventure, no matter how small the buildings or how civil and well-mannered the shareholders and owners. Problems inevitably arise, and when they do, the managing agent can often wind …