Category: Building Operations

With the focus on climate change and how to fight it constantly sharpening, residential communities are seeking ways to reduce their contribution to the problem, commonly known as their carbon footprint. Carbon reduction is necessary both t…

In early 2020, our firm was hired to prepare a reserve study for an unremarkable 136-unit, 12-story condominium in south Florida. It was the kind of association you could drive right by without noticing, not much different from all the othe…

Whether you’re a manager or a board member, running a co-op or condo has never been an easy job. There’s always a capital project to fund, a contractor to hire, a dispute to resolve, a leak to repair...the list can feel endless. Add to all …

A recent article on a real estate website posed a common question: What’s the best way for a condo board to collect unpaid common charges?  The author of the article - presumably an attorney - gave some pretty good advice…and some not so g…

Saving the planet from the effects of climate change is an urgent—and gargantuan—task. It’s such a huge, global issue that the actions of individuals and small entities like co-op and condominium communities to help can seem pitifully inade…

While practical experience may be the best source of education for property managers, a little refresher in the classroom from time to time never hurts. Requirements for continuing property manager education vary from state to state, and ev…

In 2016, the New York City Council passed a citywide ordinance requiring the installation of natural gas detectors, 180 days after “an industry standard concerning the use of natural gas detecting devices in residential buildings has been p…

As temperatures around the globe reach dangerous highs, many places are hitting the highest temperatures they’ve ever recorded—yet large-scale federal action on climate legislation is stymied. War rages on in Ukraine; inflation dogs economi…

Like baseball players, condo and co-op owners are often creatures of habit. Settled into their units, they’re used to costs rising over time, but on a regular and predictable basis.  That means once a year - usually in January - and by a co…

In an ideal world, every New York City building owner, manager, condominium association, and co-op board issued a Safe with a Repair and Maintenance Program (SWARMP) notice for exterior defects during their previous Façade Inspection and Sa…