2017 April
Focus on... Landscaping & Lawn Care/Expo

Building maintenance follows a schedule based on the seasons, each of which presents a unique set of challenges to a co-op or condo. At certain times of the year, it just makes sense to do certain regular maintenance projects: weatherizing,…

Trees may seem like the ultimate in low-maintenance landscaping; they’re naturally occurring, live for decades (sometimes centuries), don’t really require much in the way of watering, and sometimes don’t even need pruning.  But while all t…

Property maintenance is a major responsibility of ownership.  In many unique ways, maintenance programs in a co-op or condo buildings – especially in older properties having architectural or design features with important artistic histories…

By all accounts, the New York City co-op and condo market is continuing its healthy, active trend of the past few years (although the frantic activity of the immediate post-Recession years seems to have eased somewhat—particularly at the up…

Almost five years have passed since Superstorm Sandy slammed the East Coast and caused major havoc and destruction, reportedly resulting in 117 deaths and an estimated $65 billion in damages. For many affected people in New York and New Jer…

For many people, one of the most attractive aspects of co-op or condo living is the fact that everything, from the windows to the elevators to the numbers on the apartment doors, looks great; clean, bright, elegant and well-maintained. For …

Thank goodness spring is just around the corner. Even if winter isn’t the same brutal, icy season it used to be, it’s still a welcome relief when the clouds part, temperatures rise, and leaves and buds begin to appear outdoors. Nice as the …

Not only does New York never sleep, it doesn’t even pause for long, especially when it comes to the construction of residential real estate. While the rate at which new buildings are developed ebbs and flows depending on the strength of the…

For as long as people have been living in close proximity, the issue of maintaining relations has been an important one. A good neighbor is a lot of things: sensible, reliable, understanding. But humans can be touchy beings, and when we’re …

Today, some eight years after the Great Recession, financing for co-op and condominium buildings and individual unit purchases is widely available.  The market is overall quite healthy, and though there have been some systemic changes to th…

Peter and Sarah have three boys, all under the age of six. While that fact sinks in, consider this: all three boys shared a single bedroom in the family’s modest, two-bedroom condo.  When the tots were small, this set-up worked well, and Pe…

Tenants and landlords don’t always see eye to eye. Disputes arise because one party isn’t living up to their agreement, and not everything can be solved with a phone call or cordial email. That’s where the Housing Part of the Civil Court of…

In any large city, parking is a big deal—it’s often hard to find, and when you do find a spot, it can be very expensive. Parking spaces not only provide urban drivers with freedom and mobility in the crowded cityscape, but they can be a ser…

The city that never sleeps: That’s New York, and it turns out it’s one of the things that its residents adore most about it. It’s also one of the things they hate. Along with the convenience, access and availability to just about everything…

In recent years, “home-sharing” or “short-term” rental sites have been experiencing increasing popularity as well as political and media attention in many so-called destination cities. At the time of this article, the most popular of these …

Once upon a time, real estate auctions were solely for troubled properties.  While the conventional stereotype of an auction is that of a vehicle to move distressed properties, the old scenario no longer strictly holds true.  Today, real es…

Over the past few months there have been several interesting and insightful court decisions. Here are a few legal cases that provide some helpful lessons for boards and managers alike. 19 Pond, Inc., et al. v. Goldens Bridge Community Asso…

In movie industry parlance, New York City’s Second Avenue subway line was in ‘development hell’ for almost 100 years—as many Upper East Siders who ride the very crowded Lexington Avenue lines daily know first-hand. Plans for a new line were…

Like single-family homes, condominium units tend to be owner-occupied. Financing for these units therefore tends to follow traditional guidelines and requirements centered on owner occupancy. But what happens when a condo unit is held as an…

Q. We are shareholders and residents in a co-op in Westchester. The building provides underground parking for a fee. These cars are handled by a contracted valet parking service, who are careless to say the least. For a small increase in …