Almost everyone is under pressure these days to save money however they can—and co-op and condo buildings are no exception. Even those associations who are financially solvent and have money socked away for a rainy-day capital improveme…
2010 July
Focus on... Budget & Finance
Tighter lending requirements for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgages for condos have put financial and administrative pressure on condos all over the country at a time when many are ill prepared for any new challenges…
Not everybody on a co-op or condo's board is an accountant (or can even balance their own checkbook, for that matter.) Handling the money for an entire building is a big responsibility, however, and residents rely upon their board to ma…
Given recent headlines, cooperative and condominium associations could be forgiven for thinking they need to put an armed guard and razor wire around the petty cash box. A wave of fraud appears to be hitting properties from New York to…
For the majority of co-op or condo owners, their apartment is their largest asset. That apartment should be viewed as an investment and one that makes fiscal sense. But that approach is impossible if unit owners are missing important p…
Nestled by the water on the south end of Babylon, a town in Suffolk County, is the Village of Babylon, a two-square mile incorporated entity that is home to a little over 12,000 residents. Babylon Village isn’t very large, but it is hom…
Q Do you have any advice as to how co-op maintenance is calculated per unit? I am on the market for a co-op apartment and I would like to know how the corporation arrives or calculates the maintenance that a unit must pay per month.…
Q “I have been dealing with a co-op board that appears to have denied a transfer of shares to me in a bad faith manner. The proprietary lease states that the board will transfer shares to a spouse or a "financially responsible member…
Q “What recourse do unit owners have when a board is negligent of their duties? For example, a violation of the bylaws occurs when the board does not inspect common areas for safety and aesthetics when it specifically states in the b…