The Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) Society is a community of credentialed property and casualty insurance professionals formed in 1944 to promote ethical practices and continuing education a…
Shareholders often find themselves “butting heads” with the board of directors at the co-op buildings in which they live. Often the disputes, which arise are disagreements over a shareholder’s personal agenda, and a board not allowing th…
When you’re a superintendent or a member of a building’s support staff, your educational background is not always that important when you’re hired, as long as your experience is enough to impress those doing the hiring. But once you do …
It’s no secret that in this economic climate, everyone is trying to find a way to save money. For the city’s co-op and condo communities, this has meant a great deal of scaling back on budgets, cutting some projects and reshuffling plan…
Sometimes, living in one of those enormous, labyrinthine co-op or condo buildings can make a resident feel like one among the many, indistinguishable from any other. While many people prefer the anonymity of a large building, others se…
When a crisis arises in a building, however large or small, calling the super is almost as reflexive as dialing 911 in an emergency. After all, it’s the superintendent who literally holds the keys to a building’s successful operation—he …
It’s an oft-repeated refrain that co-op and condo boards are groups of unique individuals with their own perspective and opinions, so no two boards are ever the same. That being said, there are certain overall organizational characteri…
Everybody sometimes disagrees with the decisions of their co-op or condo board. Maybe the choice to rearrange the garbage receptacles out front seems ridiculous, or the ongoing clattering of machinery on the roof is driving the top-flo…
Renting out their unit has long been a strategy for condo owners (and some co-op shareholders) who—usually because of an extended absence, or as an extra revenue stream—wish to retain ownership of an apartment that they’re not living in …
Talk to enough property managers and board members, and eventually you’ll hear the phrase “owner’s mentality” mentioned in reference to co-op and condo dwellers. Usually the phrase is uttered by way of a complaint, as in, “Our residents …