When the author of this story bought her home, she sat in disbelief when the lawyers handed her the last paper to sign—the one that confirmed she signed all the other papers! The confusion wasn’t surprising; the home-buying process …
Boston, Massachusetts may seem worlds away from New York City, but the story of one embattled condo building there represents a dire cautionary tale for boards and managers everywhere. A couple of years ago, the residents of Boston’s H…
Whether you own your own home or not, you can’t help but know about the subprime mortgage crisis that is sweeping across America as foreclosures are claiming people’s homes everywhere we look. Well, almost everywhere. Even in light …
Co-op boards are notorious for scrutinizing potential shareholders. Condos, on the other hand, are often thought of as more lenient—and thus more desirable—by buyers because condo boards lack the power to probe too deeply into a buyer’s per…
As many readers are by now aware, a rule that proved a hindrance to the operations of many co-ops in New York was drastically altered in December of last year--and the changes are having far-reaching effects on the city's co-op communities.…
In most cities, traditionally, the choicest pieces of real estate are owned by native sons and daughters, people who are from the area. Money comes in from everywhere, but the entrepreneurs making that money are homegrown. Heinz and Carn…
Recent studies of energy usage in multifamily buildings have revealed that the least efficient buildings use up to seven times the energy of the most efficient—even when those buildings are otherwise similar. It should surprise few …
While increasing energy costs are financially painful, they do help motivate all of us to think a little bit more about resources and conservation. The combination of increasing energy costs and a general increased consciousness of …
The phrase “jack of all trades” could have been coined simply to describe the profession of residential property manager. To succeed in this fast-paced business, a property manager has to master a wealth of information and skills. More i…
New Yorkers are obsessed with real estate development. We all pause to stare at the listings in our local real estate office window, and everybody knows the average price of an apartment in Manhattan (currently $1.7 million). Citywide, m…