Page 11 - New York Cooperator January 2020

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Both Wollman and Wolf say yes. “If you stay in five years or longer, ness go on to do project work,” adds chances are, you’ll stay in permanently,” Wollman, “but the truth is there aren’t a says Wolf. Many factors affect that deci- sion, and that’s something that’s been we can to keep good people.” consistent over time. Management in- volves long hours—managers are pretty agement has certainly changed, but at much on call 24/7—and little apprecia- tion, along with heavy workloads. Wolf sion special has stayed the same. Despite points out that “While the number of unit email, text, apps, and other innovations, owners that tend to take advantage of a it’s still a people business and is likely to manager is overall a very small percent- age of the whole, they can be very dis- turbing for the manager—so the ‘thank or so percent make all the difference.” “Some managers who leave the busi- lot of alternatives. And we do everything In the final analysis, real estate man- the same time what makes the profes- stay that way. n A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter with Th e Cooperator, and a published novelist. Even an existing amendment proce- dure can turn problematic when attempt- ed to be put into practice. “Many propri- etary leases have very high quorums, too,” continues Roberts. “Some require 100% of the shareholders \\\[to vote\\\], which can get really ridiculous and make it technically impossible to amend them.” Such conundrums are most apt to come up in communities with a larger propor- tion of recent buyers, who may be less engaged than their predecessors or lon- ger-term residents and who don’t know the issues (or don’t show up to meetings). “People were more involved, frankly, with the co-op back in the 1960s because they were newer,” says Roberts. “Oft en times people just don’t feel that there is a need \\\[to get more deeply involved\\\]. Th ey think, ‘Th e other people will come—so I don’t need to go to the meeting.’” So how do you ensure that you will even get enough people to show up to a meeting to vote on a bylaw change? “Communicate the need for the updates and modifi cations clearly and over time to the shareholders in order to persuade them of the importance of these changes,” says Mark Axinn, partner with Manhat- tan law fi rm Brill & Meisel. “You won’t be successful if you try to pass compre- hensive revisions with little notice and inadequate explanation.” Roberts agrees, adding that paradoxically, it’s when co- ops are functioning smoothly that making quorum can be a real challenge. “Th e old joke I have is that you can tell when a co- op is well run when it can’t get a quorum multifamily buildings may be that of pets. at \\\[shareholder\\\] meetings. Because unless Most buildings and associations have a there’s an issue that drives people, oft en- times they just don’t care.” Nip, Tuck Once the problems of inertia and atten- dance have been overcome, the next step is assessing your governing documents for clauses that could use a little updat- ing. Axinn suggests analyzing them with specifi c attention to areas that have led to problems or misconceptions, and men- tions some particular proprietary lease provisions that are frequently misun- derstood or misused: “Two related ones deal with occupancy,” he says. “Section 14 permits family members to occupy an apartment with the shareholder, but not instead of the shareholder. Consequently, shareholders frequently violate Section 15 (which restricts subletting) when they allow grown children or other relatives to reside in their apartments without the named shareholders also present.” Axinn points to another area that fre- quently results in misconceptions and contestations: responsibility for electrical, plumbing, and other repairs in a build- ing or apartment. Because there is a fi ne line (oft en made of drywall) between a building’s common elements and the space to which a shareholder is entitled occupancy per their proprietary lease, re- pair obligations are not always so cut and dried. In condominiums and HOAs, too, the border between an owner’s property and the building’s or association’s com- mon elements can be tricky and ambigu- ous—sometimes even inconstant, such as when the roots of a tree on common prop- erty grow to interfere with a unit owner’s plumbing. Overall, clarity is key. If problems or misunderstandings have occurred be- cause of a lease or bylaw provision’s ambi- guity, then this might be the fl ashing red arrow signaling where to concentrate on making changes. Pet Peeves One of the most contentious issues in lease or declaration provision that pro- hibits at least certain types or sizes of ani- mals. Purchasers of shares or units have based their purchasing decision on the presence or absence of such clauses—an UPDATING... continued from page 1 continued on page 12