Q. I own a small co-op in Queens. For several years I had to sublet my apartment because I moved to Europe. I need to ask some questions to the co-op board but I am not getting any help from management. I basically wanted to know who the …
Members of a condominium or co-op homeowners’ association (HOA) have a fiduciary responsibility to manage their community’s funds wisely, and to protect the financial interests of all owner/shareholders. Breaching this duty carries the real…
Community living – the very basis of co-op, condo and HOA life — is based on the idea of trust. In a community of potentially hundreds or thousands of residents, every resident can’t be involved in the making of every decision. Too many coo…
Q. Can I, a shareholder, get access to records of maintenance work for my own unit? I have been told by the property manager and a board member that the maintenance supervisor has claimed that certain maintenance work was done in my unit …
One of the biggest political buzzwords of the past 10 years or so is “transparency.” Observers demand transparency in meetings of elected bodies in local and state governments, transparency in the proceedings of public agencies, and at time…
No one likes to feel left out or ignored. Sometimes that is how co-op and condo residents may feel if they believe their board or managers are not responding to their requests for information or sharing enough up front. What they may not re…
It's a truism that's been phrased many ways by many wise people: “A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.” That's the case in any number of situations, but it's especially applicable to the administration…
This in an anxious time in which to sit on the board of directors. With defaults and foreclosures accounting for some 20 percent or more of the units at some condominiums, frustration among board and association members is off the char…
Criminals like Bernard Madoff and other so-called “white collar” lawbreakers have made headlines recently with their financial double-dealings, but unfortunately, fiscal mismanagement and fraud also happen in co-op and condo communities…
Co-op and condo owners often complain that their board doesn’t do enough, or that the board members aren’t involved as much as they would like in the administration and maintenance of their building. While a disinterested or apathetic board…