As Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., once said, taxes are the price we pay for civilization. While that may be true, its truth doesn't make a hefty tax bill any easier to swallow, especially when it comes to city and state property taxes. There…
When it comes to multi-family communities with shared accommodations, failing to plan for a rainy day could mean that when the rains do eventually come—and they will—bailing out will be much harder, and more costly, than it might have been …
When the Bloomberg mayoral administration launched PlaNYC in 2007, New York City took notice. The program focused on the environment, and included everything from planting street trees to reducing carbon emissions, upgrading building codes …
There has been a recent push by federal, state and local legislators to get reverse mortgages or Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) approved for New York cooperatives. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (…
Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and members of the City Council reached an historic agreement for an on-time and balanced New York City budget for Fiscal Year 2017, marking completion of the earliest budget deal …
While it's pretty much impossible for a co-op or condo board or employee to commit fraud on the scale of a Bernie Madoff or any one of the herd of shysters who have tromped through the news in recent years, building boards and managers cert…
The majority of co-op and condo residents pay their monthly maintenance fees on time and in full with no problem. The recent recession, however, changed the picture drastically for residents who found themselves laid off, under-employed, or…
The first of the month rolls around and it’s time to pay the bills that keep your building operational. Repairs might need to be made, staff salaries paid, maintenance done to keep all the common elements running, and supplies reordered. Th…
Industry professionals talk about capital planning and budgeting for your community.
In this challenging economy, many co-op and condo buildings are struggling to pay their bills while planning for future needs. Still, most building boards are loathe to raise maintenance fees or levy special assessments on their residents u…