2006 Jul
Focus on... Budget & Finance

The dreaded phrase “maintenance increase” is two words that most co-op owners may not want to hear, but sometimes it is necessary for a building’s board to make the unpopular decision of raising fees. With rising operating costs, fuel …

With all the luxury condos going up in New York City today, many people still maintain a soft spot for the city’s prewar apartment buildings. You’ll see them all around town—on Central Park West and Fort Washington Avenue in Manhattan;…

They’re the smallest pieces of the co-op puzzle. The one item without which the whole endeavor could not function. Just like in a Fortune 500 corporation, the shares in a co-op reflect value, and can be highly sought-after prizes—depen…

Some of the world’s most valuable real estate exists in New York City, and the wealth doesn’t end with residential buildings and office space. In a city with so many people and so little space, a place to park your car can be priceless…

It is a fairly common situation: The managing agent of a 30-unit condo calls the building’s legal counsel and asks whether the building is required to hire or retain a resident superintendent. Sometimes the building wants to rent or se…

Most of us don’t like to spend a lot of time contemplating our so-called “final wishes”—we’d much rather leave planning our wills and executing our estates for another day. Uncomfortable as the subject is for many people however, it’s …

Nearly 150 years ago, the grounds of Parkchester in the Bronx served as a shelter for New York City’s homeless children. It was a place where kids could learn a trade and get a second chance. Today, Parkchester is enjoying its own seco…

Nearly 100 percent of New York City co-ops have an underlying mortgage of anywhere from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars. If you own a co-op, having an additional multi-million dollar mortgage hanging over your head might …

All of the city services that co-op and condo owners enjoy come with a price and the agency that is generally the keeper of those very large purse strings is the New York City Department of Finance. Finance is empowered to collec…

In New York, buying and selling real estate is almost a contact sport. The hours are long, the stakes high, the customers savvy and demanding. In a city of eight million people, there are thousands of real estate brokers, but only an e…

Once an estate planning operative for only the rich and famous, trusts are commonly used today to facilitate estate planning for everyone. While empty-nesters downsize and seek out residences that are more maintenance free—such as co-o…

Q I am on the board of my Ridgewood, Queens co-op, and I have a problem with our current board president. Without consulting the other board members, the president has cancelled our upcoming meeting, saying that there is ‘nothing on the…

Q Late last year, our board decided to make changes to our bylaws by an act of resolution; a move not authorized by our governing documents. A group of shareholders called a special meeting to oppose the changes, and they were voted on…

Q I am the current board president of a 48-unit Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) co-op located in Manhattan. Recently, in an effort to bolster operating income, without increasing maintenance assessments, previous boards had…

Q I’m a resident co-op shareholder, and despite the clearly stated bylaw that washing machines and dryers are not allowed in my building, the resident board president living underneath me illegally has not one, but both appliances in h…