2016 July
Focus on... Budget & Finance

Whether your community is a co-op, condo, or HOA, proper record-keeping is the difference between a healthy property and one headed toward peril. And while meeting minutes and election results require well-organized documentation, records s…

The first of the month rolls around and it’s time to pay the bills that keep your building operational. Repairs might need to be made, staff salaries paid, maintenance done to keep all the common elements running, and supplies reordered. Th…

The majority of co-op and condo residents pay their monthly maintenance fees on time and in full with no problem. The recent recession, however, changed the picture drastically for residents who found themselves laid off, under-employed, or…

While it's pretty much impossible for a co-op or condo board or employee to commit fraud on the scale of a Bernie Madoff or any one of the herd of shysters who have tromped through the news in recent years, building boards and managers cert…

Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and members of the City Council reached an historic agreement for an on-time and balanced New York City budget for Fiscal Year 2017, marking completion of the earliest budget deal …

State legislation and city ordinances can provide a condo, co-op, or HOA board with guidance on how to effectively deal with a disruptive or unruly shareholder—someone whose abusive, harassing, inappropriate or chronically litigious behavio…

These days, pretty much everyone has a smart phone, which means they have a computer in their hands all day, every day. That makes it difficult to take true vacation days, to 'unplug' on the weekend, and to “leave work at work.” Our work li…

On July 16, 2015, the Real Estate Finance Bureau of the New York Department of Law issued “Guidance on Housing Development Fund Corporations Seeking to Transfer or Sell Property for, or Otherwise Convert Property to Market-Rate Use” (the “G…

A condo board with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, three years of aggravation and ulcers all around.  Everyone wants to feel heard, and, particularly in conflict—when emotions are often inflamed—it’s easy for understanding to be compromised…

Q. I’m concerned about my board charging for arbitrary fees. My co-op recently charged a shareholder for a letter written to her by the co-op’s attorney.  Other shareholders have received similar letters but haven’t been charged for them.…

Q. Unbeknownst to me, our board has unilaterally determined that a “majority” of residents want an exercise room. And the board, in spite of this, continues  to spend our money to pursue the project despite our requests to “cease and desi…

Q. I live in an Upper East Side co-op whose water tank was recently replaced. Since the water was turned back on, I’ve noticed that there has been a distinctive odor and taste to the water. It could best be described as a mild cleanser bu…

Q. If the particular bylaws of a condo community are continuously not followed, does the bylaw that is continuously misused become a LEGAL bylaw? Do we have any legal precedence here?                    —Concerned in Chelsea A. The by…

Everyone who plays a role in designing and building or maintaining and operating cooperatives and condominiums, from architects and construction contractors to developers and owners, property managers and board members, is well familiar wit…