2011 October
Focus on... Board Operations

The relationship between boards and management is, by its very nature, a deep and complex one. The two sides rely upon one another to ensure the smooth oversight of their co-op and condo communities. Both are dedicated to doing everyth…

This in an anxious time in which to sit on the board of directors. With defaults and foreclosures accounting for some 20 percent or more of the units at some condominiums, frustration among board and association members is off the char…

 Regardless of whether they’re self-managed or employ a management company, a co-op or condominium board of  directors will at some point have to make decisions about how and from whom the  building gets its supplies and services.   …

What happens at a co-op or condo community’s annual meeting should be strictly business, though these gatherings also can be a place where resident shareholders and unit owners kvetch about their concerns regarding the building or commu…

Birds in flight may be beautiful, but their departure sometimes leaves the nest unprotected. And when that nest is in a condominium or cooperative community, property managers and boards must do their best to compensate. This …

The main source of any co-op or condo building’s revenue comes from maintenance charges. That seems self-evident. But sometimes a building or development may suddenly need to undergo emergency repairs or fund large capital impr…

 When you’re decorating your home, there are two things you want to bear in mind if you  have children. You want to keep the design functional, but safe. After all,  anyone who’s ever had, or just looked after, a baby or toddler, can tell …

 Whether you are dipping your toe in the real-estate buying pool for the first  time, or you’re soaking in it after purchasing numerous properties, the Institute of Real  Estate Management (IREM) is an organization to take note of.   …

 If we gave Manhattan neighborhoods human personalities, the meatpacking district may be the hip,  in-the-know popular cousin and Central Park South would be the conservative  Wall Street banker uncle, it would stand to reason that Murray …

 If the board of directors is the Barnum & Bailey of the cooperative or condominium, the manager is the ringmaster. The  board finances the show and books the talent, but all eyes are on the manager.    “Everything falls on you,” sa…

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…

 New York City law will phase out the burning of Number 6 fuel oil in the near  future.    Should you wait until the last minute until making the switch to cleaner fuel  oil in your own building? Does it make sense to do it now, or …

 The sad reality is that when a hurricane, flood or fire strikes, often the  greatest damage is not caused by the crisis itself, but rather by poor decision  making by boards in the aftermath of the event.    In the aftermath of a d…

 Following the nationwide mortgage crisis, there is a lot of concern across the  country about communities being faced with the prospect of foreclosure. Many  states have enacted legislation relating to how to handle properties in  arrears…

The key to proper financial management of a co-op begins with the presence of a strategic plan. This plan should include, at a minimum, a projection of necessary capital improvements; and a forecast of revenue and expenses over a ch…

Q In our parking garage we have access to a bike storage room and an outside bike rack that is next to a resident's handicapped parking spot. Right now the only way to get to the bikes is to "trespass" over the parking spot. Our concern…