Category: On The Board

The legislative season is upon us, and in many states, bills specifically dealing with co-ops, condos and HOAs are wending their way through the legislative process. Even when bills aren't aimed directly at those forms of home ownership, ma…

As reported by Builders Online , the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published guidance recently regarding criminal background checks for housing providers, focusing on 'disparate impact' discrimination. According …

Homeowners have mortgages, and renters have rent. What about co-op and condo residents? They have mortgages AND they have maintenance fees, and when maintenance fees climb high enough it feels like condo owners are paying a mortgage and ren…

The average unit owner or shareholder is well aware of the differences between living in a single-family home and a condo, co-op, or HOA. There’s no stampeding children upstairs in a single-family home that you can’t yell at to quiet down, …

With the 2016 presidential primaries in our rear-view and the general election just a few short (read: long) months away, New York City is another victim of the presidential circus. Bernie Sanders alone recently whipped leftists into a fren…

New York's tabloids have gotten hold of a lawsuit filed by Madonna against her Manhattan co-op board for refusing to allow her children to stay in her unit when she is not occupying the unit herself. For those not familiar with the unique w…

Take a trip with me across the beautiful Hudson River, to West Orange, New Jersey, where homeowners in a condominium community are currently being billed an average of $30,000 per household to replace faulty siding. As reported by CBS New…

As with a first date or job interview, sitting before a cooperative board to plead your case for buying into its community is a daunting prospect. Though the pressure may be high, board interviews tend to be pretty straightforward. But what…

On a consistent basis, a group of elected shareholders or unit owners, for co-ops and condos respectively, meet to conduct the building’s business.  This group is known as a Board of Directors (co-ops) or a Board of Managers (condos).  The …

Co-ops have several ways which they could explore monetizing untapped potential. These opportunities range from air rights sales, to creating retail components, to selling the entire property outright. When shareholders come together with a…