Welcome to our new online section that helps you find your dream co-op or condo. Just look in here for a sampling of recent sales and selected listings by brokers in the New York City metropolitan area, and check out what's available in your preferred locale and price range. 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 »

With many co-op boards, the admissions process is cut-and-dried: They look at the financials, check your references, interview you and then put it all together to make a decision. As Pam Laudenslager, president of a 65-unit co-op at East 66th Street in Manhattan describes a typical process: “We review the financials and the references, and require 50 percent down. We don’t have a formula like you have to have X amount of wealth over the value of your apartment or something like that." Read More »

June 30, 2008: A New Buyers' Article Every Monday — Can a condo board fine you for creating what it viewed as a nuisance when the board has no specific authority to impose a fine? According to the judgment in a 2006 case on Long Island, the answer is no. 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 »

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 »

There are one million dogs in the naked city, according to The New York Times. Or maybe two million, according to animal advocates. Or, per the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, just 500,000 — with only about one in five of licensed. Any way you look at it, that's a lot of doggies in the window — and hundreds of thousands of irresponsible owners, making pet policies prudent. Read More »

May a condominium board require an apartment-buyer to deposit an advance equal to the unit's common charges for two years? Not unless the condominium documents specifically give the board the authority to do so. Read More »

If you believe you've suffered personal injury from mold or a damp indoor environment, you have no case for suing a cooperative corporation or condominium association — at least according to a September 27, 2006, New York State Supreme Court hearing decision that is, regardless, unlikely to be the last word. Read More »

Your co-op apartment is unbearably noisy because it's situated near one of your building's ventilation units. You want to withhold your monthly maintenance until the situation is corrected. Can you? Or are you just opening yourself up to a lawsuit? Read More »