Having apathetic leadership is a problem in some buildings, though a board that oversteps the boundaries of its power or invades the privacy of residents also can be a headache. An informed board, however, should be less apt to go beyond i…
The New York-New Jersey metropolitan area probably has more banks and other financial institutions than anyplace else in the country. Wall Street is located in Manhattan, after all, and several major banks are headquartered in the Garden S…
Can a board ask for $3.5 million in a special assessment and not delineate the projects or dollar amounts to the owners? The unit owners have a vague idea what the board wants to do but we have no idea of the scope of the projects, no start…
While keeping the records of the association is not the most fascinating part of serving on a board, it is in some ways the most important. In fact, the flow of paperwork is the lifeblood of the community. The Articles of Incorporati…
New Jersey has had its share of hurricanes and weather disasters over the years, and while sometimes there's ample warning before something calamitous happens, that's not always the case. A bad situation can be made immeasurably worse when…
Mitigating Noise with Flooring Q My family is a shareholder of one of eight apartments in a small co-op. The apartment directly above ours was sublet to a family in 1997 that signed an agreement specified by the board of directors r…
A key to success and functionality in any relationship is clear, consistent communication. In a residential community, part of achieving functionality is managing the information in the governing documents and records which detail the …
Everybody sometimes disagrees with the decisions of their condo or co-op 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-flo…
While essential to the successful operation of all cooperatives or condominiums, governing documents are often only glossed over by otherwise well-intentioned board members, residents and property managers leading to potential pitfalls.…
Q Is there a law allowing us to conduct a meeting without a quorum reached? We need more than 50 percent of the vote and certain shareholders refuse to attend meetings. We don't have a co-op board and cannot elect one. The old board mem…