So, you’ve decided to buy an apartment in the tri-state area. Congratulations—that’s the easy part. Now you must choose whether to buy into a cooperative or a condominium. That’s harder. Significant differences exist between the two model…
The legislative season is upon us, and in many states, bills specifically dealing with co-ops, condos and HOAs are wending their way through the legislative process. Even when bills aren't aimed directly at those forms of home ownership, ma…
As reported by Builders Online , the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published guidance recently regarding criminal background checks for housing providers, focusing on 'disparate impact' discrimination. According …
Homeowners have mortgages, and renters have rent. What about co-op and condo residents? They have mortgages AND they have maintenance fees, and when maintenance fees climb high enough it feels like condo owners are paying a mortgage and ren…
The average unit owner or shareholder is well aware of the differences between living in a single-family home and a condo, co-op, or HOA. There’s no stampeding children upstairs in a single-family home that you can’t yell at to quiet down, …
With the 2016 presidential primaries in our rear-view and the general election just a few short (read: long) months away, New York City is another victim of the presidential circus. Bernie Sanders alone recently whipped leftists into a fren…
New York's tabloids have gotten hold of a lawsuit filed by Madonna against her Manhattan co-op board for refusing to allow her children to stay in her unit when she is not occupying the unit herself. For those not familiar with the unique w…
Take a trip with me across the beautiful Hudson River, to West Orange, New Jersey, where homeowners in a condominium community are currently being billed an average of $30,000 per household to replace faulty siding. As reported by CBS New…
As with a first date or job interview, sitting before a cooperative board to plead your case for buying into its community is a daunting prospect. Though the pressure may be high, board interviews tend to be pretty straightforward. But what…
On a consistent basis, a group of elected shareholders or unit owners, for co-ops and condos respectively, meet to conduct the building’s business. This group is known as a Board of Directors (co-ops) or a Board of Managers (condos). The …