The age-old adage from Benjamin Franklin perhaps says it best: nothing is certain but death and taxes. And without some assistance on the legislative front, taxes are likely to increase significantly for New York City co-op an…
In your own household, you have money coming in and money going out. You have things you want to save up for—say, a new cool high-def, flat screen television or the latest iPad. Yet you owe your car company and your creditors. To keep i…
In December 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the United States was in a recession that had started back in December 2007. The official announcement was old news for most Americans. As the dust cont…
Wait a second. You say you bought your apartment, but you don’t own it? Huh?” Explain the concept of the cooperative apartment —you buy shares of a corporation and then rent the apartment to yourself—to a homeowner outside of Ne…
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg recently released the New York City Executive Budget for the 2013 fiscal year. While the mayor lauded the $68.7 billion plan as a “balanced budget with no tax increases,” the City Council believes the prelimina…
For a crystal-clear picture of how a co-op board or condo association is doing, there are few better lenses than the community's budgets and financial reports. From an investment perspective, they show the association board, property m…
Money is a topic some people are skittish about discussing. When you’re a board member or the managing agent of a residential co-op or condo building however, there’s no benefit to skirting financial realities just because they may be di…
Many regular readers of The Cooperator doubtless remember the struggle that ensued in the spring of 2011 when co-op officers and elected officials in Eastern Queens declared a “tax revolt” against the city for huge increases in assessed…
The leading factor responsible for the Great Recession—fraudulent mortgage lending—remains a thorn in the side of the nation’s fledgling economy. It started with the false promise of home ownership to many susceptible, under-financed peo…
Unless it's a thoughtful gift or a party in their honor, nobody likes surprises. That's especially true when it comes to sudden, serious, or non-negotiable repairs to a co-op or condo building. A building community must have enough mon…