As an attorney and an apartment dweller, Michelle Freudenberger had seen it all and more when it comes to living with difficult residents. “I lived next door to twin toddlers whose parents were both attorneys,” says Michelle, w…
It is one of life’s eternal questions: is it possible to have too much of a good thing? That question certainly can apply to the matter of long-serving board members: those individuals who get elected and re-elected term after term and …
One of the trickier problems to deal with when you live in a co-op or condo is dealing with board members who sometimes let the power go to their heads. Even though they are entrusted with a great deal of responsibility in the smooth r…
Remember your first day at a new school? Most likely, you didn’t know a soul, had no idea what the students were learning and you probably felt nervous, intimidated or maybe even afraid. In most cases, this is what it’s like to be a new …
A leaking pool, a wall in need of repair, a faulty exhaust system, chimney and furnace repairs… Who’s responsible for fixing them? Generally, most leases provide that “structural” repairs are the landlord’s responsibility and that “nonst…
Individual cooperative board members scored a major victory recently in the case of Weinreb v. 37 Apartments Corp., et al, an appellate court decision that relieved them of certain responsibilities when it comes to shareholders' propos…
They say there are eight million stories in the naked city, and when you’re an attorney working for a co-op or condo in New York, you may find that some of the best of them are happening to you. While some may think that handli…
Take a moment and imagine your family or circle of friends: each person with his or her unique personality, attitude, experience and background. In a co-op building or condo association, hundreds of people live together, sharing common …
The 2011-12 legislative session is on in Albany as this article is being written, and bills of all kinds are being considered—including some with implications for co-op and condo owners and administrators across the state. Housing is al…
While for many laypeople cooperatives and condominiums are essentially interchangeable, from the legal point of view they are radically different institutions. Much of this difference can be attributed to history. Co-ops have …