When Boards Can Defame You — and the Courts Say It's OK
Nov. 17, 2008; read a new buyers' article every Monday — A co-op officer who makes illegal, defamatory comments about you as a prospective purchaser may be setting himself or herself up for a defamation lawsuit. But otherwise, there's nothing you can do about such falsehoods if you don't pass the admissions process. The existence of defamatory comments, in other words, isn't a passport for admission. Read More »
RECENT SALES
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 »
Getting In: The Admissions Process
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 »
Admission-Interview Questions: What a Board Can't Ask
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 »
Promises, Promises — Mean Nothing if They're Not in the Offering Plan
You've purchased an apartment that came with a roof setback you believed you could use as a terrace, based on real estate brokers' statements and paper evidence presented to you. Could you sue the brokers and the sponsor's attorney if it turns out that, despite representations otherwise, this use wasn't provided for in the offering plan, and was illegal?
No. You cannot. Let the buyer beware, since the broker doesn't have to. Read More »
Unmarried Couples and Protection Under Anti-Discrimination Laws
May a co-op board apply a different standard for approving single applicants to purchase apartments than it does for married couples? The answer was a clear "no" in the early stages of Latoni vs. Sherman Square Realty Corp. (2005) Read More »
When Carbon Monoxide Detectors Sound: Who to Call — And Not Call
When a carbon monoxide alarm went off at a Bronx co-op apartment shortly before a recent Thanksgiving, the resident called the New York City 311 line. It in turn called the Fire Department — and the other shareholders at the 435-unit property came to regret it. Read More »
When a Board Can Disregard Shareholders' Votes — Legally
May a board, which receives an opinion from shareholders, then disregard the shareholders' wishes and take action unilaterally? The answer was yes in Simon Schwarz and Theresa Otto v. Dorchester Apartment Corp. and Its Board of Directors. Read More »
Read Documents, Ask Questions! A Terrace Horror Story
Is a co-op board responsible for repairs to an enclosed, greenhouse terrace installed by a previous tenant when it becomes uninhabitable because of leaks? Not according to Joan Messner v. 112 East 83rd Tenants Corp., in which the tenant, not the co-op, was held responsible for repairs — largely because she hadn't understood, or accepted, some very important facts in engineering and other documents before buying. Read More »
Handling Newspaper Thieves in Your Building
Nov. 3, 2008; read a new buyers' article every Monday — Of all the quality-of-life issues that plague co-opers and condo-owners, perhaps none is more aggravating than the missing newspaper, a repeat occurrence that torments residents from the most modest building in Brooklyn or The Bronx to the toniest address on Park Avenue. But there are steps your board can take to help solve the problem. Read More »