2013 July
Focus on... Budget & Finance

Finance Rebuilding the Pieces
2013 July Rebuilding the Pieces

 While natural disasters have impacted the United States for countless decades—from The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina—these catastrophic events are seemingly occurring with a more severe frequency.  For…

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Finance Watch Your Language
2013 July Watch Your Language

 While the vast majority of one-time projects and long-term service contracts  involving vendors and service providers and their co-op, condominium or HOA  clients go smoothly and either conclude or continue without incident, a small  perc…

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Finance Coping With Arrears
2013 July Coping With Arrears

 The foundation of any properly run condo association or co-op building rests on  residents paying their monthly maintenance fees on time and in full, with no  delays or delinquencies. However, in the wake of the recession, with many  shar…

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Finance Follow the Money
2013 July Follow the Money

 If you want to find out about the history of a town, region or country, head to  a museum or look it up on the Internet. If you want to find out about your  family’s history, look at your photo album, whether it’s in a book or online. And…

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Management Crowd Control
2013 July Crowd Control

 Out of nowhere, someone is regularly using the parking space you have had for  years. And strangers are appearing regularly in your building’s hallways, though you’re not sure where they belong or if they should even be there. Strangely, …

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Board Operations Unresponsive Boards
2013 July Unresponsive Boards

 There are a number of things that make shareholders unhappy in a co-op or condo,  but chief among the complaints is when the board just doesn’t seem to hear their concerns or doesn’t do its duty to keep shareholders informed of board meet…

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Design Making New Things Old
2013 July Making New Things Old

 It's a sad fact that the artisans and craftspeople who created some of the most  beautiful, distinctive interior and exterior architectural elements for New  York's residential buildings are an endangered species. The proliferation of  sl…

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Real Estate Trends Home is Where the Heart is
2013 July Home is Where the Heart is

 While some affianced New York City couples insist on holding their weddings in  churches, synagogues or the Central Park boathouse, others opt to keep the  nuptials much closer to home—in some cases right down the hall, in the courtyard, …

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Board Operations It Just Takes a Minute
2013 July It Just Takes a Minute

 While a lot of the day-to-day business of running a co-op or condo building  happens in the management office or on-site at the level of maintenance and  staff management, meetings—board-only and resident alike—are the forum where importa…

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Finance Living Social
2013 July Living Social

 When you were a child, you probably tuned into the PBS show Mister Rogers  Neighborhood, where a homespun sweater-clad Fred Rogers often sang “Won’t you be my neighbor?”  Mr. Rogers might be singing a different tune today if he wer…

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Neighborhoods Uptown in Inwood
2013 July Uptown in Inwood

 While it remains under the radar, Inwood is a hidden gem that continues to  attract an increasing number of musicians, actors, artists and young  professionals in search of affordable housing and a vibe of being away from New  York City w…

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Q&A Q&A: Is this Co-op for Real?
2013 July Q&A: Is this Co-op for Real?

Q I am currently interested in purchasing a co-op apartment. However, my mortgage  broker advised that since the co-op has issued both common and preferred stock,  that it does not technically qualify as a co-op under the IRS 216 ruling, …

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Q&A Q&A: Vote by Proxy?
2013 July Q&A: Vote by Proxy?

Q “The current president has mailed proxies to owners indicating he would vote on  their behalf and included information that stated “the proxy-holder will cast votes as he/she determines” for the annual board election. The current presid…

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