Co-ops and condos routinely undertake major capital projects to improve and update their physical plant with the hopes of both increasing value and cutting expenses. But how about more modest programs to save money in areas that are often o…
Real estate brokers are nearly universal when it comes to touting properties with ‘tons of natural light,’ and nearly every apartment-hunter wants a room (or rooms) with a view. Windows let the light in, keep out the rain, and add value to …
Successfully running a condominium, cooperative, or homeowners’ association is no small task. A board and/or management must consider the interests of its residents when making sweeping decisions to benefit the property and those who call i…
In March of last year, The New York Times reported on an emerging money-making venture among some co-op and condo residents: renting out their spaces for an hour or two at a time to various users, often finding customers through third-party…
Condo, co-op and HOA communities are made up of people – and people aren’t perfect. Within a community association, squabbles are inevitably going to break out between unit owners. Oftentimes these problems will be resolved relatively easil…
The invention and adaptation of vertical transportation – otherwise known as the elevator – in the 1850s changed the face of architecture, space design, and apartment living forever. Unfortunately, like any mechanical system, every so often…
A condo is only as strong as its metaphorical foundation – the people who live there, in other words – and their dedication to building a vibrant, functional community. But the literal, physical components that comprise the structure are v…
Whether you live in a high-rise building or a spread-out condo association, you probably take having reliable, adequate heat in the winter months for granted. But heating a multifamily community is not so easy as simply turning a dial. Ther…
Real estate lore has its share of stories about merciless, if not downright unscrupulous, city inspectors popping in on unaware building owners, conducting unscheduled examinations of all types, and sometimes even demanding payoffs in excha…
Q. I am a condo unit owner with a patch of HOA-owned grass near my unit that was overlooked for many years. Over the past six years, I have slowly landscaped the area in accordance with the landscaping of the complex. No one from the boar…