Being on a committee is not always an easy task. In fact, sometimes it can be downright frustrating. A three-month commitment can stretch into six months; meetings can go on forever; committee members may drift off topic; and precious,…
Every day, New York's court system hands down verdicts and decisions that impact the day-to-day operation of co-op and condo buildings. Some decisions are far-reaching, precedent-setting game-changers; others affect building administra…
Condominium boards and managers are often frustrated by unpaid common charges. Once a unit owner falls more than 60 days behind in his or her common charge payments, it is recommended that this problem be turned over to the condominium …
Abraham Lincoln once said: “Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker, the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.” Certain…
We all have needs. Wants, too. In a co-op or condominium, the significant needs or wants of the shareholders and unit owners usually have to be routed through the board or management company. In theory—and, by and large, in pr…
Most of your buildings have a shareholder—or maybe two or three—who fit into a particular mold: you know, longer hair, Birkenstocks, vintage Woodstock t-shirts; or maybe yours has the $5,000 suit, $1,000 shoes, and starched attitude. Th…
Few things can be as upsetting as discovering that the funds that fuel a co-op or condo have been mishandled—or worse yet, stolen. For residents, fraud undermines their sense of trust in the men and women who oversee and manage the plac…
Every co-op and condo community has a board of directors in charge of governing the community’s finances, physical maintenance and other day-to-day business. Part of the board’s responsibility also is to keep the community fiscally soun…
Ari Meisel lives in a 4,000-square foot loft in a four-family co-op building in Soho—he also operates several green buildings, consulting and real estate businesses from the comfort of his own unit. He has lived in this building for his…
As the leaders of a private corporation in which shareholders own stock that entitles them to live in an apartment within the corporation’s building, residential co-op board members have a lot of responsibility. Along with this responsi…