2011 February
Focus on... Board/Shareholder Relations

 As the snow and ice melts away and the city readies for signs of spring, it’s time to turn our attention to The Cooperator’s 2011 Co-op & Condo Expo, a must-attend event for the tri-state area’s property managers, board members, real esta…

Getting elected to the board of one's co-op or condo building is usually a very positive thing: it gives a person the chance to play a part in the preservation of their community, and also gives them the opportunity to leave it in bette…

As a shareholder or condo owner, you’ve got a gripe. Whether it’s about Mrs. Smith’s poodle barking all day, the neighbor’s teenaged son who blasts his heavy metal music full-volume when his parents aren’t home, or a long-coveted parking…

According to U.S. Small Business Administration statistics, over half of all small businesses begun in the last decade have been home-based—that's more than 24 million in real numbers—with a new home-based business being launched every 1…

Even as condos and co-ops around the Northeast have loosened pet restrictions to increase marketability during the recession, only a limited segment of New York City buildings have jumped on the bandwagon. Co-ops, most of whic…

Election season typically starts around Labor Day, when we start to be bombarded with reminders to cast our ballots to choose who we want to be in charge of our city, town, state and country. It ends on Election Day in November, when th…

The responsibilities of property managers include a wide array of tasks, from the physical to the administrative. While many of these jobs involve concrete things—like sending out monthly bills, filing paperwork, or going to meetings—eq…

Filing a lawsuit as any co-op or condo resident that’s been involved in one can attest, is not only very time-consuming and expensive, but equally unnnerving and contentious. A much saner solution to settle any acrimonious dispute is to…

 Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of Queens that is as  diverse as the immigrants that settled there from places as far away as Greece,  Italy, Ireland, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East.    A Famous Ances…

 Given the state of the economy and the real estate market, a novel issue is  whether when a bank conducts a foreclosure sale on the shares relating to a  cooperative apartment (without a judgment of the court), the successful bidder is su…

 No, it’s not the Katy Perry song, “first you’re hot and then you’re cold,” but treating a bedbug infestation can be just as opposing and confusing as the  romantic relationship in that popular song. Do I go with the pest control  company …

Q I just found out that a member of my co-op board has been issued a check for a very large amount from our operating account. There has been no explanation or discussion about this, and now nearly six figures worth of our community …

Q “I live in a co-op in Queens. The front door to my apt. is being replaced—due to its extreme age it is no longer functioning properly. The manager informed me that I will be responsible for providing all of the hardware for this door—…

Q I live in Cobble Hill in Brooklyn and our building is going through non-eviction condo conversion. Can the landlord or sponsor raise our rent for major capital improvements even if the building converts, or does the sponsor pay the…