Q. Why are co-op board minutes so sparse that others who read them—shareholders, lawyers, brokers—have no real idea what goes on at meetings? This is because minutes are routinely ‘sanitized’ to leave out any troublesome issues, any comme…
Buying into a residential community like a co-op, condominium, or HOA can be a bit like selecting the political system you’d like to live under. Governance styles can range from an Athenian democracy where every member of the community is i…
Q. Can a unit owner demand to see a copy of the monthly list of unit owners’ payments of the monthly HOA? —Owner Seeking Access to Docs A. “Yes,” says attorney Aaron Shmulewitz of the New York City firm of Belkin Burden Goldma…
Board responsiveness and transparency are critical components in the good governance of co-op, condo and HOA communities. It’s the responsibility of the board and its members to act on behalf of the community - a legal obligation known as f…
The words communication and community share a common root. It comes as no surprise, then, that the success of communities depends on effective communication between board members, managers, and residents. In multifamily residential communit…
Q. In this time of COVID and depressed Manhattan co-op sales, sellers have been willing to accept bids way lower than a board would allow. If a seller and buyer agree to enter into a contract of sale for an acceptable (to the board) selli…
If you live in a condo or a co-op, you most likely have heard the term fiduciary duty, usually in reference to the responsibilities and obligations of board members and management. But what is a fiduciary duty? In essence, it’s a legal rela…
One truism of home ownership is that there is always something that needs to be fixed or upgraded. That’s true in condo and co-op communities as well, both large and small. There’s always a roof to replace or a boiler to upgrade, or a lobby…
Paper, or electronic? It’s now a choice for everything, from the books we read for pleasure to the books we keep on our associations and corporations. Even restaurant menus are digital today in the wake of the need for ‘touch-free’ environm…
Is a condominium -- or any type of common interest community -- a democracy? Do the shareholders in a co-op have the right to access the documents and information their boards use to make decisions? Can they demand to see those documents? T…