One of the most unforgettable events of 2012 was the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, which, according to the National Hurricane Center, resulted in approximately 147 deaths in the U.S., the Caribbean, and Canada, and at least $50 billion in pro…
There’s an old adage that goes along the lines of, “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relatives.” That’s true of the people you serve with on your co-op or condo board. Board politics, like all politics, can get uncomfortab…
A democracy fares best when it is proportionally representative of its constituents. For all intents and purposes, the board of a condominium, cooperative or homeowners’ association is a democratically-elected entity, and as such, one could…
The key to any healthy relationship is good communication. That holds especially true for the sometimes-delicate dialogues that take place among residents, shareholders, board members, and managers in co-ops and condos of all sizes and conf…
Q. Can a board restrict access to voice recordings of an executive closed session board meeting? —Concerned About Ethics A. “The question posed as to whether or not a voice recording of an executive session of the…
As anyone with a smartphone, tablet or laptop knows, technology makes life easier in countless ways. The management of co-op and condo properties is no different, with new digital tools emerging all the time to streamline, facilitate and im…
Do even a cursory web search, and you can easily find examples of how New York City—particularly Manhattan and much of Brooklyn—is becoming increasingly expensive and its neighborhoods gentrified—but the city’s status as a global business h…
It is not easy being a board member. There are meetings to attend, documents to review, decisions to make and neighbors to mollify. There are also a number of rules and regulations that must be followed in order to ensure that the individua…
A condominium, cooperative or homeowners’ association thrives or falters based on how all of the various stakeholders involved can come together in effort to achieve a common goal: the maintenance of a successful and stable residential comm…
Owning a unit in a multifamily co-op or condo carries a great many benefits in the form of shared responsibilities, but it also requires compromises along the lines of control: what your board, management, and building staff can or cannot d…