2009 Oct
Focus on... Board Operations

Here’s the scenario: the sponsor of your co-op, who owns enough units to throw his weight around, hires a managing agent who plays fast and loose with the municipal tax codes. So much so in fact, that he winds up in jail—and your buildi…

When it comes to board members pushing their own pet projects, stalling meetings, and generally gumming up their building’s administrative works for selfish reasons, Chris Ebert, senior property manager of Downtown Properties in Manhatt…

Talk to enough property managers and board members, and eventually you’ll hear the phrase “owner’s mentality” mentioned in reference to co-op and condo dwellers. Usually the phrase is uttered by way of a complaint, as in, “Our residents …

Renting out their unit has long been a strategy for condo owners (and some co-op shareholders) who—usually because of an extended absence, or as an extra revenue stream—wish to retain ownership of an apartment that they’re not living in …

 Everybody sometimes disagrees with the decisions of their co-op or condo board.  Maybe the choice to rearrange the garbage receptacles out front seems  ridiculous, or the ongoing clattering of machinery on the roof is driving the  top-flo…

It’s an oft-repeated refrain that co-op and condo boards are groups of unique individuals with their own perspective and opinions, so no two boards are ever the same. That being said, there are certain overall organizational characteri…

When a crisis arises in a building, however large or small, calling the super is almost as reflexive as dialing 911 in an emergency. After all, it’s the superintendent who literally holds the keys to a building’s successful operation—he …

Sometimes, living in one of those enormous, labyrinthine co-op or condo buildings can make a resident feel like one among the many, indistinguishable from any other. While many people prefer the anonymity of a large building, others se…

 It’s no secret that in this economic climate, everyone is trying to find a way to  save money. For the city’s co-op and condo communities, this has meant a great deal of scaling back on  budgets, cutting some projects and reshuffling plan…

 When you’re a superintendent or a member of a building’s support staff, your educational background is not always that important when  you’re hired, as long as your experience is enough to impress those doing the  hiring. But once you do …

 Shareholders often find themselves “butting heads” with the board of directors at the co-op buildings in which they live. Often  the disputes, which arise are disagreements over a shareholder’s personal agenda, and a board not allowing th…

 The Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU)  Society is a community of credentialed property and casualty insurance  professionals formed in 1944 to promote ethical practices and continuing  education a…

 In today’s harsh economic times, maintaining a healthy reserve fund is more important  than ever. A co-op or condo’s reserve fund can be used to cover any number of emergency expenses from sudden  repairs to legal costs. In addition, a re…

 “So you think hip-hop had its start out in Queensbridge?”         According to seminal rap artist and South Bronx native KRS-One, you are  mistaken. In fact, according to his aptly titled 1986 track, “If you popped that junk up in t…

 As of November 2, new lending guidelines from HUD mean that FHA loan  requirements will be significantly tightened for condominium sales.    The new requirements could have a profoundly negative effect on the ability to  sell or bu…

At first glance, concrete obviously seems like a very dense material. In reality however, it absorbs water, behaving more like a sponge. This can easily be observed on a summer day. Pour water on a sidewalk, and you can actually watch th…

Lee Iacocca once said that if you want a sound company, “You start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can’t miss.” Id…

New York is often called a “vertical” city because its finite borders impose strict limits on expansion. In Manhattan particularly, the only way to build is up. This verticality goes both ways, however—for all the towering skyscrapers a…

Q The board of our HDFC co-op is not fulfilling the needs of the building or maintaining its upkeep. The building structure is deteriorating, and the intercom system has not been working for over a year. Since the death of our last …

Q Our management company just changed hands. The building records were shipped to the co-op, placed in a room across from the laundry and the rumor is that only the superintendent has the key. The other night when the new manager cam…