Any number of things can set off an insurance claim in a co-op or condo building. Someone can slip and fall in the lobby; there can be aesthetic damage from a construction project, or a leaky roof can cause major water damage— sometime…
Insurance sounds like a simple concept: you pay a premium to your insurer, and then when you file a claim, your insurer pays you. Simple. Insuring a co-op or condo building shouldn’t be much different than insuring yourself—just on a b…
Since they were first built, apartment buildings have been insured for disasters and unforeseen circumstances—the things nobody ever wants to happen, but has to admit are possible. Things like fires, floods, earthquakes and so on. In t…
Having insurance means having financial protection—protection from being financially crippled by having to pay excessive costs to rebuild a life or a home—or a whole building—when tragedy strikes. Just as individual homeowners h…
In 2001, the Amalgamated Houses co-op in the Bronx paid $287,000 in insurance premiums. The following June, when the existing policy terminated, the yearly tab rose to a staggering $427,000—an increase of almost 50 percent. And wasn’t …
Some of the world’s most valuable real estate exists in New York City, and the wealth doesn’t end with residential buildings and office space. In a city with so many people and so little space, a place to park your car can be priceless…
They’re the smallest pieces of the co-op puzzle. The one item without which the whole endeavor could not function. Just like in a Fortune 500 corporation, the shares in a co-op reflect value, and can be highly sought-after prizes—depen…
With all the luxury condos going up in New York City today, many people still maintain a soft spot for the city’s prewar apartment buildings. You’ll see them all around town—on Central Park West and Fort Washington Avenue in Manhattan;…
The dreaded phrase “maintenance increase” is two words that most co-op owners may not want to hear, but sometimes it is necessary for a building’s board to make the unpopular decision of raising fees. With rising operating costs, fuel …
In any home or apartment, urban or suburban, woodwork plays an important role in construction, but in areas such as doors, floors, cabinets and decorative elements. With plenty of synthetic alternatives and wood veneers available to do…