2007 Jan
Focus on... Management/Board Relations

For most boards, the fees charged by their management firms are just a fact of doing business. Aside from signing the initial contract, most board members probably do not give much thought to how those fees were initially determined, bey…

In a perfect world, the relationship between a management company and the co-op or condo it serves would be harmonious, with few—if any—bumps in the road. But this is New York City, and if that vital relationship sours, your board could …

Co-op and condo buildings don’t run themselves. Their owners and shareholders rely on board members to make important decisions about the buildings they live in, and board members count on their management companies to provide them with …

One of the most important things that a co-op or condo must take into consideration when hiring a contractor for a maintenance or construction project is whether the service providers the building are bringing in to do the work are prope…

Even the best-run buildings have their bad days, and minor (sometimes not-so-minor) emergencies.  In times like these, it’s vital to have a capable, experienced manager at the helm who can handle problems efficiently and minimize their d…

Forget Barbie dolls and dress up clothes—when Janet Leon was a little girl, she probably would’ve preferred to have a mini tool belt and set of screwdrivers. Growing up, she says she fondly remembers shadowing her father, a machinist, ar…

Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best: “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” And taxes aren’t just a certainty for co-op and condo buildings—they’re a complicated part of keeping a building co…

The bathroom is one of the most used rooms in the home—albeit in short intervals.  We all have our own vision of the ultimate bathroom, from natural light and optimal storage space, to telephones, Jacuzzi baths and flat screen TVs. But u…

In what may prove to be a significant victory for cooperative and condominium boards sued for housing discrimination, an appellate court recently applied the protection of the business judgment rule to a discrimination claim for disabili…

Westchester County is known for, among other things, its grand, multi-million dollar mansions and historic homes found in its posh communities such as Scarsdale, Bronxville and Brewster. Many of these homes were built in the 1950s, when …

There was a time when many of the city’s key resident management/superintendent associations didn’t communicate much. The Manhattan Resident Managers Club, Inc., the Metropolitan Building Managers of New York, the Scandinavian-American B…

There is a tendency among many co-op boards, building managers and developers to consider “green” building technologies as extras—or as luxuries that have nothing to do with their need to reduce costs. That kind of thinking is so …

One of the major initiatives which will soon benefit New York City’s co-op and condominium landscape is the ongoing effort to certify the resident managers and superintendents that live and work in city housing. It’s time to dust off A…

Mortgage financiers are gearing up for a different lending landscape in 2007. To succeed in the coming year, lenders will need to pay attention, look around and get in front of trends.  Here are a few trends we can already foresee: …

It’s no secret—in fact, it’s been a problem for years: residential developers in Manhattan and other hot areas like Downtown Brooklyn are running out of space. Various solutions have been applied to the space issue over the years.…

I currently run my family’s construction business and have been doing so since I left management business over four years ago. Recently, I was asked to renovate an apartment for a client in a luxurious East Side apartment building. The b…

Q Three shareholders organized the development of 861 square feet of unused courtyard space behind their building, after having surveyed the building for interest (57 percent of shareholders responded—of which 70 percent were in favo…

Q If a building decides to adopt a transfer tax, can they impose a tax when an apartment is sold to an outsider but exempt from the tax when selling to an insider? The apartments that have been combined with other apartments, (three …

Q My co-op is about to engage in a multi-million dollar energy upgrade project.  The board president has decided to not allow me—a newly elected member of the board— and any shareholders access to review the documents on this project. How…