In New York City, many co-ops and condos use a practice called a "flip tax" in order to boost building revenue. A flip tax is a fee paid either by the purchaser or seller that goes back to the co-op or condo each time an apartment is sol…
It's a profound story of how reserve funds can go seriously awry—within months of buying an apartment in a new New York City building, David and all his new neighbors were informed that they would have to contribute out-of-pocket to help…
Getting on a condo or co-op board requires a significant investment—both in time and sweat equity. As president of my co-op board, I can attest firsthand to the labors involved. Rarely does a day pass that I don't receive a call from a s…
One of the largest and most well connected branches of New Jersey's state government is also perhaps one of the least recognized. Based in Trenton, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), is made up of a host of individual …
There are many ways to lose talented, knowledgeable and caring volunteer officers from the board of community associations: Don't protect them from personal liability for the decisions they make by foregoing directors and officers l…
If laws weren't made to be broken, they at least need to be amended once in a while. As a community's residents change—and the world in general changes around the community—yesterday's rules and bylaws can become outdated or no longer su…
When you're a homeowner living in an association environment, it's a good bet that at some point during your residence you are going to take issue with something that a neighbor is doing—or vice versa. Whether it be something small like …
Unlike the ordered governance of cooperative corporations and condo associations in places like New York City, New Jersey's community and homeowner associations largely govern themselves, with little oversight from the state and no standard…
Throughout its 200-year history, the New Jersey Legislature as an institution has reinvented and adapted itself to provide for the needs and concerns of its citizens and constituents. For all the impact the state legislature has on ordin…
For many years, Newark had it rough. Not only was the city mired in economic and social crisis, but it was the butt of late-night comedians' jokes, the red-headed stepchild of New York City, the charmless wasteland up the river. In the l…