In addition to death and taxes, fluctuating interest rates are pretty much a guaranteed fact of life. That reality raises a question for many co-ops with low interest underlying permanent mortgages coming due for refinancing: how to recast …
When a condo or co-op resident runs for a seat on their board, the decision to do so generally comes from a desire to ‘step up’ and participate in the governance of the place they call home, and the building or association community as a wh…
Every so often a scenario comes along in the otherwise fairly predictable world of New York co-ops that has the potential to upend long-standing norms. That may be the case for Carnegie House, a ground lease co-op at the corner of West 57 …
After a long period of low rates marked by high levels of activity in financing, the dramatic climb in interest rates over the past two years has presented challenges for co-op buildings faced with refinancing their underlying permanent mor…
As 2023 draws to a close, the New York metro’s co-op and condominium communities are feeling the consequences of a long, slow, persistent market decline brought on by the pandemic, rising interest rates, and inflation. That decline has mean…
Congratulations! You’ve just been elected to the board of directors, and given your first monthly financial packet. Like many new board members, your first thought is, “This is so confusing. Glad I’m not the treasurer - I don’t have to unde…
Both the New York State Senate and Assembly have passed provisions to update the famous (sometimes infamous) J-51 property tax abatement and exemption program. It now awaits Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature. The new incarnation of the law …
As has been widely reported lately, Fannie Mae, which is under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has developed a secret blacklist of condominiums, HOAs and co-ops that are ineligible for “conventional financin…
In a May 3 statement, National Housing Conference (NHC) President/CEO and former Treasury Department official during the Obama and Trump administrations David M. Dworkin expressed serious concerns about the Fed’s move to increase interest …
The recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Signature Bank, and First Republic have shaken public faith in the US banking industry, again. While not the disastrous level of bank failures that led to the Great Recession in 2008, recent…