April 9, 2010 — The second of two recent court decisions involving a law designed to protect home-buyers from fraud has gone against consumers. Though a group of purchasers waited up to 16 months after placing deposits before a condo developer received even Temporary Certificates of Occupancy, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the joint Hunters Point and Hunters View condominiums (above) — a 204-unit pair of 12-story, luxury apartment buildings — fall under exemptions meant for small developers of under 100 units.

What does this mean for potential condo buyers? That you make sure before putting down any money that you meet ILSA. Read More »

Thinking of buying a co-op or condo? Already bought, and not sure how co-op/condo life and rules work? Learn all about purchasing a place and living in your new community. It's not like renting, and its not like owning a house. What's it like? To learn all you need to know, CLICK HERE NOW! Read More »

The co-op board approval process may seem simple or complex, depending on the board, but one thing is certain: It's all about whether you're going to be a good fit for the building, both financially and personally. "It's a crap shoot," admits Peter Lehr of Kaled Management. "Is that person going to be an ideal shareholder or is that person going to be a nightmare?" Read More »

You're the woman in an unmarried couple looking to buy a co-op apartment. During the board's admission interview, one member turns to you and asks, "How old are you? Do the two of you intend to marry? If you have children, will you continue working as a lawyer after they are born?" Now here's one more question: Was the board allowed to ask any of those things? Read More »

Welcome to our online section that helps you gauge the real-world selling prices of co-ops and condos in in the New York City metropolitan area. Use this sampling of recent sales by local brokers to help give you a picture of what's available in your preferred locale and price range. Read More »

Here is the complete, searchable text of the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law, the guiding document for the construction and habitability of New York City apartment houses. It covers everything from the placement of fire exists to prohibitions against such arcana as having a commercial fat-boiling facility in your apartment. Those more obscure regulations paint a vivid picture of what New York City used to be like, and the kinds of things people really and truly did that led to fires, explosions, disease, entrapment and other tragedies that, through hard experience, led to the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law being formed.

Yet finding all of the law's provisions online, in one place, readily searchable through links, has never been easy. That's why Habitat has created this section. Anyone, from renter to co-op or condo apartment-owner to landlord now can use these links to quickly get to the exact section you need — all, for the first time, right at your fingertips. Read More »

March 14, 2010 — New York State's proposed 2010 budget includes a new tax on anyone buying a co-op apartment. Just how much will this new "cooperative loan tax" affect people buying a co-op this year? If passed into law, it'll add anywhere $1,000 to over $5,000 to your costs for a typical co-op loan. And that's just the start of it.... Read More »

Oct. 7, 2009 — You're combining two apartments, something hundreds if not thousands of co-op and condo owners have done. The board gave its initial go-ahead, approved your architect's plans, signed off on your contractor being duly licensed and insured, and said OK to your construction schedule. Work went as planned, and now your board says you need to have a Department of Buildings inspector come in to revise the now-combined apartment's Certificate of Occupancy.

But wait! There's a quicker, more convenient alternative — one that some boards aren't even aware of. It's called Directive 14. Read More »

Is your home habitable? And do you, as a co-op owner, have a right to habitability?

Marcello Suarez, a tenant-shareholder in a cooperative apartment building owned by Rivercross Tenants Corp., complained to the co-op that the air conditioning and heating unit in his apartment did not heat the apartment during the winter. He eventually had to hire someone to repair itf. Suarez sued the co-op on the grounds of a breach of his lease and a breach of the duty to supply heat. And that set a precedent in motion…. Read More »

Different co-ops have different rules regarding subleases, but one thing's constant: The law's not on your side if you try to sublet without the board's knowledge. Obviously. But did you know you can get your proprietary lease terminated and your shares forfeited back to the co-op simply because you didn't following the formal approval process? Read More »