Page 15 - CooperatorNews NY March 2021

COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS — MARCH 2021 15 E-mail: eaglebirdcontrol@aol.com TOM STAGER We install humane and effective bird control systems. Our trained technicians are certified to operate suspended scaffolds as well as aerial boom lifts. We have been in the Bird Relocation Business for Over 25 Years TEL. (212) 290-1115 • FAX (212) 290-1116 330 West 38th Street, New York, NY 10018 www.eaglebirdcontrol.com We are Number One when Birds do Number Two, ... which can carry infectious diseases. MACKOUL RISK SOLUTIONS MACKOUL RISK SOLUTIONS | WWW.MACKOUL.COM | (866) MACKOUL | INFO@MACKOUL.COM You’ve probably seen premium increases the past year along with less coverage and lower limits. As one of the leading insurance brokers in co-op and condominium insurance, we have the experience, the knowledge and the markets to help you navigate this scary time. Call Mackoul Risk Solutions today to help answer your questions, advise you on your insurance and risk management concerns, and provide professional guidance. Feeling the effects of the THE CYCLE EXPLAINED S oft M arket Lower Premiums Higher Limits Available Lenient Underwriting Less Requirements More Competition H a r d M a r k e t ? H ard M arket Higher Premiums Lower Limits Available Stricter Underwriting More Requirements Less Competition Condos vs. Co-ops: Who’s in Charge Here? To understand the role and powers of renting or subletting units, though there the board, it’s important to understand are some exceptions. the diff erence between condo and co-op ownership versus single-family homeown- ership, as well as the diff erence between condos and co-ops themselves. Single-family homeownership is very simple: You buy a home and the land un- derneath it. Th ere may be some interface with local governmental authorities for provision of such necessary infrastructure as utilities, roads, and basic services such as trash collection, but as the homeowner, you’re in charge of maintaining your prop- erty, both the structure you call home and the land upon which it sits. If it snows, you remove the snow from your driveway. If your water pipes freeze and burst, you are responsible for repairing them. You are the king of your castle—and all the responsi- bilities that come along with it. Th ere is a short step between condo and co-op ownership and single-family homeownership, and that is the HOA—the homeowner’s association. In these com- munities, the owners within the commu- nity own their homes (which may be free- standing and not attached to anyone else’s dwelling) outright, but band together to assume certain responsibilities that would not normally be attended to by individual homeowners. Th ese include things like maintenance and management of roads inside the community’s borders; a com- munity clubhouse, pool, and any other private amenities; and common elements that may include utilities, facades, or land- scaping, depending on how the association is set up. But generally, like single-family homeowners, HOA members are in charge of their homes, both inside and out. From HOA membership, the next step to a communal ownership structure is condominium ownership. Like owners of single-family homes and units in HOAs, condominium owners own their property outright—but their owned property en- compasses only what is within the dividing walls of their units. All other parts of the property, whether in a high-rise, mid-rise, or townhouse setting, is owned and main- tained by the condominium association, of which the unit owner is a member. Th e condominium owner is for the most part free to sell—or even rent out—their unit without the interference or approval of the condominium association. Co-op ownership is signifi cantly more restrictive. Co-op owners don’t own their apartments in the sense of having a deed to a piece of real property. Th ey own shares in a cooperative corporation that in turn owns the building in which their apart- ment is located, and are issued a proprie- tary lease for their unit by the corporation. Th ey can sell those shares and transfer the lease applicable to their apartment—but only to an approved buyer. Th at approval is given (or withheld) by the co-op’s board of directors—and most boards fl atly forbid The ‘Landlord Complex’ Many owners—both co-op and condo alike—have a misconception that their board and/or manager functions just like a landlord, and that as such, all of their complaints, minor or major, should be di- rected to either or both of those entities. “Th e biggest misconception condo own- ers have,” says Ellen Shapiro, a partner in the law fi rm of Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks (MEEB), located in Braintree, Massachusetts, “is that the board exists to serve the owners individually. Th e board is not the landlord; the board is representing the community as a whole. It represents the organization, not the individual own- ers—and many owners don’t understand that. Th is problem is created when unit owners have (or are given) the impres- sion that they can call management, the board, or even the association attorneys at any time and speak with them about any- thing in their interest. Th e board governs the common elements, not the individual units—although decisions they make may aff ect individual units. ‘If it happens in my unit, the board has to deal with it,’ is not how it works. Th e board is not your land- lord, or your parent, and it can’t fi x your individual problems.” Th is misunderstanding tends to be even more prevalent in co-op build- ings—which is perhaps understandable, given how much power co-op boards do actually have over how their buildings are governed—but is no less incorrect. Co-op owners in New York, where the housing model is especially common, oft en move directly from being rental tenants to being co-op shareholders with little instruction and extremely limited knowledge of who is responsible for what in their new com- munity. Accustomed for years to calling the landlord when anything goes wrong in their apartment, they’re oft en surprised to learn that repairs that would be required of a landlord—fi xing a leaky faucet, for ex- ample, or replacing a ceiling light fi xture— are now very much their responsibility, and are actually detailed in the proprietary lease they were furnished with upon clos- ing on the apartment. Th e transition from a tenant mentality to a cooperator mental- ity may take time, and it is sometimes met with resistance along the way. “People need to realize that living in a co-op or a condo is very diff erent from renting an apartment,” says Julie Schech- ter, an attorney with the law fi rm of Arm- strong Teasdale in New York City. “Where- as a landlord remains responsible for most continued on page 16 A LOOK AT... continued from page 1