After the four walls of a given structure, the roof is sometimes referred to as the “fifth plane”—and just like the walls that hold it up, the roof is an all-important structure that can make or break a building’s performance. New Jersey’s changeable climate, which as we all know ranges from sweltering humid summer heat […]
Reasonable Accommodations (video)
You are a board director in a no-pet building. And you’re happy about it. But an owner has come to you and said “I need an emotional support pet.” Welcome to the world of reasonable accommodations. In this video you’ll learn what you have to accommodate, when it is necessary, and how to do it. […]
Effective Steps Co-op / Condo Boards Can Take with Disruptive Members
The managing agent remembers it well. There had been an incident in a co-op she managed that caused some damage to the building. She advised the board that, based on her experience, it would not be to the property’s advantage to file a claim with the insurance company. “It was not significant enough, and if […]
When “No” Means “Maybe”: A Former Board President on Flexibility with Rules
I served for 25 years as the president of my co-op board (and hope to serve on the board again, perhaps). We are a 20-story, 339-unit cooperative building located in the Riverdale section of The Bronx, with a diverse cross-section of people. In my quarter-decade of service I learned many things, but one of the […]
Applying the Business Judgment Rule: Individual Tort Liability for Co-op & Condo Boards
Recently, the Appellate Division First Department, in Fletcher v. Dakota, Inc., involving a shareholder in The Dakota, a historic luxury co-op on the Upper West Side, held that the business judgment rule does not protect individual condo and co-op board members from personal tort liability where a board acting in its corporate capacity has acted […]
Limits of Board Power: Use vs. Abuse – and How to Tell the Difference
Everybody sometimes disagrees with the decisions of their co-op, condo or homeowners association board. Maybe the choice to rearrange the garbage receptacles out front seems ridiculous, or the ongoing clattering of machinery on the roof is driving the top-floor residents nuts—but the board seems determined to let it fix itself. These are the kinds of […]
The Ultimate Do It Yourself Project: Self Managing Your Community
Convenience and saving money are just a couple reasons why a co-op board or homeowners association would choose to self-manage a property. Though, outside managing firms and property managers are hired and employed for good reason. The job requires collecting monthly co-op and condo fees, hiring and managing staff, responding to residents’ issues, among other […]
Understanding Flood Insurance: What Are Its Limits? And Can I Get It?
After the storm, after the surge, after the wind has died, after floodwaters recede, the finger-pointing inevitably begins. “We did not have flood insurance,” says Dr. Janie Simmons, an anthropologist and AIDS researcher who serves as board president of Shore View Condominiums at Rockaway Beach in Queens, one of the many New York City communities […]
A Management Checklist: Performance Review Criteria for Property Managers
How can you tell whether the on-site property manager at a condominium or homeowners association community is doing a good job? And what is a ‘good job’ anyway? Whether a manager is well-liked and whether he or she manages well may not be the same thing. How do you distinguish one from the other? Read […]
Solar Energy Grows in Brooklyn: How a Progressive Board Got Residents’ OK
The view from the roof of Sun Garden Homes, a 70-unit co-op in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, includes unobstructed sights of Green-Wood Cemetery, the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. But it is the roof itself that is the most remarkable: It is covered in solar panels Read More……
Limits of Board Power: Use vs. Abuse – and How to Tell the Difference
Everybody sometimes disagrees with the decisions of their co-op, condo or homeowners association board. Maybe the choice to rearrange the garbage receptacles out front seems ridiculous, or the ongoing clattering of machinery on the roof is driving the top-floor residents nuts—but the board seems determined to let it fix itself. These are the kinds of […]
Cost-Cutting in 2013: Places Where You Can Trim Co-op / Condo Budgets
This year, resolve to cut your costs and properly fund your reserves. Oftentimes delinquent dues and bad debt will create cash-flow problems for your cooperative corporation or condominium association. Collections and liens can be costly and hard to retrieve as well, and as board members and property managers, you are expected to consistently look for […]
Second Circuit Reverses Bacolitsas Decision in Rare Win for Condo Developers
A condominium developer has garnered a significant victory in a dispute with a buyer as the result of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In Bacolitsas v. 86th & 3rd Owner, LLC, a reluctant purchaser of a unit in New York sought to rescind his purchase and sale contract […]
You Need to Keep Logs of When You Shovel Snow and Ice! Here’s Why
The condo board at the Village Mall at Hillcrest Condominium, in Queens, thought it was doing everything it had to do on that winter’s day. Its porters and superintendent regularly used a small tractor to remove snow, and a plastic device on wheels to spread salt onto the sidewalks. But they kept no logbook of […]
Superstorm Sandy: Federal Help Exists for Co-op and Condo Associations
In the terrible aftermath of superstorm Sandy, co-op and condo boards and residents found themselves struggling with both dire immediate needs and longer-term woes. With lobbies, basements and other common areas flooded and in need of repair and reconstruction, with electrical panels destroyed and with buildings not collecting maintenance or common charges from uninhabitable apartments, […]
Survival Steps: How The Albert Co-op Weathered Hurricane Sandy (video)
Fred Rudd, manager of The Albert, discusses how the cooperative’s advance emergency planning helped the residents cope with an eight-day blackout in the wake of the devastating hurricane that hit New York last month. More storm reports from New York-area co-ops and condos at www.habitatmag.com. Read More……
To Recuse or Not to Recuse? That Is the Question an Attorney Answers
A 70-unit, eight-building condominium complex faced the issue of a board member’s personal involvement in its decision-making process. The backdrop was cigarette smoke flowing from one unit into other units — including one owned by a condo-board member. You can probably see where this going. Read More……
Private Loans from Co-op / Condo Reserves: Good Idea? Oh, no, no, no, no
A board member wished to borrow a portion of the reserve fund for a personal business transaction. He agreed to (a) pay seven percent interest on the money, (b) repay the money within 30 days of a demand by the board, (c) execute an assignment of rental income from a rental property he owned, (d) […]
How a condominium association can beat the bank to money
In today’s economy, banks and courts are processing foreclosures at a historically slow pace, evidenced by the New York Times article predicting that it will take close to 62 years for the foreclosures currently pending in New York State to come to a disposition. Generally, when a unit is being foreclosed upon by a bank […]
How a Condo Board Can Collect Arrears By Using a Little-Known Tool Called DILF
With the recent economic downturn, condominium boards have been plagued by unit owners defaulting on their monthly common charge. With fewer unit-owners paying, boards are faced with the prospect of increasing common charges in order to collect the deficit from those owners in good standing — unless they can collect the unpaid charges. Read More……
Board 101: What Are the Duties of a Condo or Co-op Board Secretary?
Time to do the minutes. See? Bet you didn’t know there were board-secretary jokes! What else do co-op / condo board members and residents not know about the position of board secretary? For one thing, he or she is responsible for a lot more than just the minutes. How much more? Hours’ worth! Read More……
Board 101: What Are the Duties of a Condo or Co-op Board Treasurer?
You might reasonably imagine you know what a co-op or condo board treasurer does. He or she is like an accountant, right? Or, well, maybe a bookkeeper. It’s the kind of thing where it helps to have a degree in finance. Or is it economics? Or accounting? And it’s up to the board treasurer to […]
Vendor Contracts That Protect You: An Attorney’s Three Simple Steps
Every condo or co-op board will at some point hire a vendor to perform certain tasks or furnish services — possibly exposing the building to liability brought about by vendor actions and/or the terms of the vendor contracts. Boards of directors and managing agents must understand how to properly protect the building when hiring a […]
When Leadership Means Prodding a Board to Spend Money to Save Money
Ann Gordon moved into a 122-unit co-op in the Van Cortlandt Village section of The Bronx in 1986, when her career as a maker of large public sculptures was at its peak. She suspended a gigantic green boot above a Broadway marquee and installed 30-foot-long ballet slippers on the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Although she […]
Bed Bugs and Boards: The Steps One Co-op Took When Suspecting Infestation
When a resident in your co-op or condo reports the possible presence of bed bugs, quick response is important because the board, ultimately, has the legal responsibility to deal with this issue. Read More……
Condominiums CAN Go Smoke-Free: Two Condo Boards’ Instructive Efforts
Enforcing a smoking ban is stickier in condos than in co-ops. While in both cases a supermajority of the shareholders or unit-owners can amend the bylaws, enforcement is the key issue: A co-op can terminate a shareholder’s lease, but a condominium association’s chief weapon is a fine — and if a repeat offender fails to […]
A Queens Co-op Slashes Its Electric Bill by 85%. How? With Cogeneration.
Cogeneration, also known as combined heat and power (CHP), is a natural-gas-fueled method of generating electricity for your co-op or condo building — and it’s down-to-earth, not pie-in-the-sky, as one Queens co-op found after getting got financing to install a cogeneration plant that’s reduced it Con Edison bills by 85 percent. Eight-five. Not a typo. […]
BOO! No, Not a Ghost: Just “Back-Office Only” Management for Small Buildings
It might seem as if hiring a managing agent to care for your building is a no-brainer. But some condo and co-op boards are discovering it’s not always the smartest solution, especially when your building is small and so is your budget. Many such co-ops and condos are finding they could save management costs by […]
The Common Sense “Secrets” to Running Good Board Meetings
Condo and co-op board meetings should be productive, efficient gatherings where the board conducts business and doesn’t meet to socialize. Are you getting the most out of your meetings? If not, consider a few of these things — from how to set an agenda to how you treat fellow board members and your managing agent. Read […]
Sewer-Pipe Primer: Two Engineers Explain When to Repair or to Replace
Sewage backups, which can occur primarily in your co-op or condo’s basement, pose health risks caused by contamination from harmful bacteria and mold. A blocked or broken sewer line is the obvious culprit. Here’s what you need to know about your co-op’s or your condo’s sewer lines so that you can make an informed choice […]
For Whom the Bill Tolls: Board Sues AT&T for 18 Years’ Cell-Tower Electicity
Calling AT&T: Why have we been paying your electric bill for 18 years? That’s the question the condo board of The Leonori condominium — where residents include the actor Samuel L. Jackson and former Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack — has put to the telecommunications giant after discovering the building has been paying to power […]
Balancing Resident Experts’ Help with Your Paid Professionals’ Expertise
Co-op and condo boards have many “non-professional” professionals — lawyers, engineers, insurance agents, architects, teachers, designers, accountants and others who can tap into their work résumé to help expedite matters at your buildings. Savvy boards have learned to complement their paid professionals by utilizing the talents of a variety of professionals living in your buildings. […]
Court ruling could increase liability of individual condo, co-op board members
New Yorkers may become even more reluctant to sit on the board of their condominium or co-op building. A decision handed down by the state appellate court this month could increase the likelihood that individual board members will be held liable for their building’s decisions, the Wall Street Journal reported. Read More……
The Debate Rages On: Establishing a Building-wide Smoking Ban
Concern over health, the environment, and an evolving legal landscape has prompted a number of condo and co-op boards in communities across New Jersey to ban cigarette smoking not only in common outdoor areas but in individual units. This restriction has ignited a heated debate over health/nuisance vs. individual rights, and both sides can be […]
Condo Boards Take a Stand on Delinquencies
A SUCCESSFUL condominium depends, in large part, on owners’ paying their monthly fees promptly and in full. Delinquencies can mean less money for maintenance and amenities — and draw the ill will of fellow residents. While the sheer size of larger buildings can often blunt their impact on the budget, small buildings with a high […]
So Now You’re On the Board
The first steps to superior board performance are clarifying your board’s job and then following through with appropriate plans, actions and evaluation of results. The checklists presented here are intended to assist you in those tasks. They cover a significant number of your responsibilities. The checklists will apply to virtually any association. To use them, […]