Category: Q&A

Q Does a cooperative board have the legal right to create their own occupancy  guidelines?    —Curious Cooperator   A “The proprietary lease (sometimes called the “occupancy agreement” in certain co-ops) of a cooperative t…

Q I own a co-op in Mount Vernon, New York. I was unable to sell the co-op so the board approved a sub-lease. The  maintenance was in arrears by one month plus the current month. I was sent a letter by an attorney to pay the arrears plus t…

Q My wife and I own the shares for our co-op apartment jointly. We wish to  establish a revocable living trust for our assets and the apartment. Our co-op  board is unwilling to make the transfer to the trust. How can we convince the  boa…

Q I recently encountered an unfortunate situation with a co-op apartment sublet,  and hope that someone may have some advice. I recently signed a two-year lease  to sublet an apartment in a co-op building in Manhattan, with the expectatio…

Q “Recently our association dues went from $166 to $275, and the main reason we  were given was that the last board was 'corrupt' and money wasn't being  allocated correctly. Another reason we were given was that others in the  complex we…

Q I recently bought a co-op in Kew Gardens, and I am now living what is starting  to seem like it will be a nightmare. When it came to the closing, I was only  told of an assessment of an extra $60 each month, and, while this was a  compl…

Q I am an owner of a co-op in Forest Hills, Queens. We currently have a flip tax  of $2.00 per share. The sponsor is pushing to amend this to make it 3% of the  sales price. The sponsor is also the managing agent and they do whatever they…

Q I believe that owners have a fiduciary responsibility to the association, as  they are held in a public trust of that association just like board members.  The responsibilities and duties of owners in a homeowner association are  outlin…

Q We are having a major problem with our board president and vice-president. We  have a seven member board, in which one of the directors has asked to see a  list of bills paid to date and other board inquires. He was told that he is not …

b>Q We have a serious problem in our HDFC co-op, a limited equity cooperative.  Number one, there have been no annual meetings for years. There have been no  elections and the same people are entrenched on the board of directors.  Thirdly, …