Category: Maintenance

It’s the end of another long day at work. You come home, lock the door, flop down on the couch and take a deep breath. Time to rest easy. But consider that deep breath. How clean is the air in your co-op or condo? Do you really want to know…

In the autumn of 1999 a hot concept in property management emerged: Why not use the Internet to streamline the management process? By the spring of 2000 three Web sites had launched, each with a different vision and approach but sharing the…

"It’s probably the last remaining profession to make house calls!" says Eugene Marabello, president of The Superintendent’s Club of New York, an organization dedicated to filling a gap in the knowledge base of multi-family building maintena…

Your home is your haven, your sanctuary, the one place where you can feel comfortable, safe, and secure. At least, that’s what a home should be. But according to the National Safety Council, no fewer than 15 household accidents resulting in…

Early in the 20th Century, and until the 1950s, the oil industry as we know it today did not exist. Homes were heated with coal, and some readers who wish to date themselves may still remember cleaning the ashes and soot out of a furnace or…

Once again newspapers are headlined with the word "Rats," and the questions on every resident’s mind are, "Where did they come from this time?" and "How do we get rid of them?" Like many other problems that face large groups of people tryin…

The following article contains excerpts from a series of statements submitted by Michael Lockhart, president of American Telephone and Utility Consultants and founder of The Coalition for Water Bill Justice, and Lawrence Schatt, deputy comm…

There’s almost nothing that sounds more luxurious to potential co-op and condo buyers than an on-site swimming pool. Apartment prices are often higher in buildings with pools because they are viewed as a fun and relaxing amenity. However, m…

It’s Spring, as the saying goes, and a young man’s fancy turns to love. Your co-op board, while they may be romantics at heart, smell Spring and their minds go to landscape maintenance. The landscaping of a property is the first thing visit…

There are two major aspects to any renovation project in a co-op–one is getting approval from the co-op board, the other is getting approval from the Building Department. Getting only one approval is not enough. In other words, just because…