Picture this: a co-op resident has a problem with his neighbor who plays loud music into the wee hours. He contacts his board of directors to see what he can do about this issue, but no one calls him back. Thinking maybe he just fell thr…
Most individuals have a healthy sense of ethics, choosing to run their personal lives and business affairs aboveboard. Unfortunately, a few bad apples are inevitable. Co-op and condo board members and managers are in positions of autho…
When dozens and sometimes hundreds of personalities live together in one space, conflict inevitably will ensue. When passionate individuals serve on boards and are responsible for the overall well-being of the co-op or condo which they s…
The board of directors runs on volunteers. They put in hours of unpaid time and effort into making sure your condo or coop runs efficiently and effectively. And then they make a mistake and wham! There is a lawsuit and suddenly they are bei…
If you live in a co-op, as opposed to a condo, in New York State, chances are that your co-op has been organized under the designation of the Business Corporation Law, or BCL. But what is the BCL? The BCL, which has been in force for m…
Being on a board of a condo or co-op is no picnic. There are tons of decisions to be made, disputes to settle, finances to keep track of and a chance of being sued for a slip-up. So why do so many people decide to serve on a board—some for …
Are homeowner association's governmental or quasi-governmental entities? Until last year, most attorneys who practice community association law would have said the answer was clearly, and appropriately, no. But a New Jersey appeals court…
Ever feel like your board meetings last longer than Wagner's entire operatic Ring Cycle? They may not last nine hours, but even three hours is a long time to sit in a chair—especially when the agenda doesn't include the Flight of the Valkyr…
Every board is different, with its own individual personalities meshing for one common cause: to run the co-op or condo in their charge efficiently and with integrity. Some board members come to their positions with years of experience…
Serving on the board of directors for your building brings on a range of emotions: pride that you were selected to represent the best interests of your fellow shareholders; unease at the thought of the additional time commitment of meetings…