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No matter what the job—be it flipping burgers at a chain restaurant or running a multinational investment firm—employees should be given periodic reviews of their performance to assess how they’re doing and identify both their strengths…
As anybody who’s ever been to an “all you can eat” sushi buffet can tell you, bigger isn’t always better, and if “more” is mediocre, sometimes you’d rather have less. The same applies when it comes to property management companies. Manag…
Building boards and their managing agents function best when they work together as a team. Ideally, the two parties collaborate to implement policy, carry out administrative duties, and make decisions about the efficient operation of the…
In a competitive industry, management companies must continuously find ways to retain current clients while honing an edge that makes them appealing to new customers. This is especially true in these tough economic times, as many indiv…
Last January, not even television psychic, Ms. Cleo, could have predicted the events that were set to unfold in 2008. With the unraveling of the economy that we’ve already heard quite a bit about and forecasts for a gloomy start to 2009…
Remember Stanley Roper from the 1970’s sitcom Three’s Company? To some, he might still be their idea of a property manager—the upstairs landlord or the guy you’d call when your plumbing’s on the fritz. And indeed, when the plumbing in you…
Tax time is coming soon, and a time no one really enjoys will likely be even less fun thanks to the current recession. In the case of condo and co-op buildings however, accountants and attorneys may be able to help the communities they…
The boards of some co-op and condo buildings pride themselves on not raising their monthly maintenance fees for years at a time. At first glance, this might seem like a good thing—after all, low fees are appreciated by residents and can…
In most buildings—even otherwise well-run, well-managed ones—building staff and administration can sometimes get a little bit lax in their day-to-day maintenance duties. Equipment doesn’t get serviced. Paint peels. Dust and dirt accumula…
Q My question is about the co-op’s building sponsor. I understand the building is owned by each shareholder and that they vote in a board to run the corporation. How does the sponsor factor into all of this? Is the sponsor part owner a…
Q I am a shareholder in an eight-unit co-op in Brooklyn. The board is composed of all eight owners, of which there are four officers. My apartment is on the top floor, and over the past few years I have sustained over one dozen water l…
Q I’d like to ask about the transfer tax in co-ops. I have been living in a co-op unit with my brother for 11 years. It is currently under both of our names, but now I want to change it to my name only. How does the transfer tax figure…