LEGAL/FINANCIAL

It's been a couple of weeks since we told you about Marion Scott Real Estate's lawsuit against RiverBay, Co-op City's board of directors, which controls the 50,000-resident complex. The management company's lawsuit in state Supreme Court claims the corporation's move to suspend it was illegal. Furthermore, the New York State Homes and Community Renewal agency urged the board to reinstate and retain Marion Scott until it wraps up an investigation into the allegations. Which it didn't. So here we are, two weeks later. Marion Scott remains locked out, and the New York Daily News reports that a Manhattan Supreme Court judge denied Marion Scott’s request for a preliminary injunction, although "Justice Paul Wooten [did agree] that the directors acted inappropriately when they cited a host of alleged missteps and suspended the management company." The lawsuit is still pending.

Read more

Early this month, The New York Times declared 2015 to be the Year of the Condo, and with good reason. Reports from various residential brokerages, including the Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group cited by the Times, projected that at least 6,500 new luxury condo units in more than 100 buildings would be available for the taking this year. After a five-year drought, that figure seemed pretty impressive. But a report published last week by Halstead Property Development Marketing paints a different picture.

It looks like the number of new condos available for purchase this year is closer to about 3,500. Why?

Read more

Why shouldn't boards defer maintenance? If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Who can blame boards for not spending money where it's not imperative for them to do so? Gas, oil, and insurance are expensive. Don't get us started on taxes. Certainly, when budgets are tight, it truly is difficult to justify seemingly unnecessary expenses. As for raising maintenance or passing on yet another special assessment, many boards are understandably reluctant to go those routes. Unfortunately, however, when co-ops and condos defer maintenance, they open themselves up to a host of problems — from leaky roofs to bursting pipes — in the long term.

Some key areas where boards tend to defer are plumbing, roofs, and boilers.

Read more

When it's 30 degrees outside, the last thing on your mind is probably one of the best amenities your co-op or condo may have: the swimming pool. But just because the pool may be out of sight, doesn't necessarily mean it should be out of mind.

Depending on whether your building has an indoor or outdoor pool and what the operating hours are — namely, whether the pool is seasonal — now is an ideal time for boards to take a look at the pool to see what kind of shape it's in, whether it needs any maintenance, and whether it's time to talk about renovating it. Seasonal pools tend to open for business on Memorial Day, and May 25 will be here sooner than you think.

Read more

Want one for the "Who'd have thunk it?" file? A landlord tried to evict a woman from her apartment in Harlem for secretly keeping a dog and thus being in violation of her lease. And lost. Why? Because secret agent pooch was not so secret, explains Brickunderground.com. It turns out that Gertrude Davis, the dog owner in question, not only produced various photos of Dutchess, the dog in question, taken on various dates in the building's common areas, but also had thrown the dog "a birthday party in the building several months prior to the suit." And guess who was at the party? Two points if you said "the landlord." According to the New York Daily News, which first reported the story, months after attending the pup's lavish birthday soiree, "the landlord moved to give [Davis] the boot," but Judge Sabrina Kraus wasn't buying it. According to court documents, reported both Brickunderground.com and the Daily News, "…the party pictures showed the dog was kept in an 'open and notorious' manner for more than three months." So there you have it. Thanks to that birthday party, Davis gets to stay in her home of 20 years.

Read more

We've looked at the evolution of property management companies. As times change and needs grow, so do companies — by merging and pooling their resources together. For smaller companies, such as Gerard J. Picaso Inc., joining forces with a larger one makes good sense.

But is bigger necessarily better?

No, says Peter von Simson, CEO of midsize New Bedford Management. 

Read more

What happens when a developer that plans to build a high-rise condo needs access to the neighboring condo to do prep work and is refused entry? They sue, of course. DNAinfo reports that developer Erik Ekstein needs to "demolish the five-story Madison Avenue Baptist Church at 30 E. 31st Street, but the neighboring condo building, M127, has refused to let workers inside." The developer filed a lawsuit on January 13 in New York Supreme Court against M127 for delaying work. According to the report, M127's managing board denied the developer access to its roof, side yard, and backyard so it can install temporary crack and vibration monitors and waterproofing, along with scaffolding. DNAinfo adds that a member of M127's managing board declined to comment. It's, therefore, not clear what motivated the board to refuse the developer access to its building, but it's potentially made a costly mistake. A lawsuit means time and money wasted. Existing condo (and co-op) boards should take note and not make the same mistake. It's only a matter of time before a developer begins building a new condo right next door — especially given all the construction anticipated this year.  

Read more

What happens when a co-op or condo resident dies, leaving no heirs? Well, for starters, it can leave cooperative and condominium boards in the lurch. We're talking estates that get passed on to the courts and the judges who run them. And if money needed to pay maintenance and usage fees get tied up, solvent units end up in arrears.

So how can boards protect themselves? 

Read more

A condo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has instituted a policy that requires buyers to pay $1,500 capital contribution charge. According to one of the condo's unit owners, "the bylaws do not give the board authority to require a capital contribution in this situation. In my view, it is essentially a flip tax." What if future boards decide to increase the fee? Is there a way to nip this in the bud? The unit owner reaches out to Ronda Kaysen in the latest "Ask Real Estate" column in The New York Times for some advice. Kaysen explains that the bylaws must give the board explicit permission to collect a capital contribution such as this $1,500 charge. If not, "then the board has certainly overstepped its boundaries" and essentially amended its bylaws — which it can only do if two-thirds of the unit owners vote in favor. Good news for the concerned unit-owner, right? Wrong. Kaysen adds that "the board could probably enforce the rule without a vote." And what if a buyer doesn't want to pay? Well, then, the board can block the sale. What are the odds you'll go to court over 1,500 bucks?

Read more

Airbnb and its supporters were dealt yet another blow ahead of a City Council hearing on January 20 at City Hall titled, "Short Term Rentals: Stimulating the Economy or Destabilizing Neighborhoods." New York City Council Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee Chair Elizabeth Crowley has asked the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) to prioritize the investigation of 311 complaints reporting illegal hotel activity by companies like Airbnb because of the disproportionate public safety threat caused by fire code violations occurring in short-term rentals.

Read more