Yes you can deduct your home improvements when you sell your apt. and house. Also $250,000 per you and $250,000 for your spouse. Your question is just in time to do your 2018 taxes. Please bring your questions up with your accountant who will best advise you in this matter. Best of Luck.

Thanks for your answer but I believe you misunderstood my question or I didn't phrase it properly. I'm not asking about one's personal taxes; rather, if co-op boards allow a shareholder to deduct improvements made to her/his apartment before calculating the flip tax. Thanks.

If a down payment was not required to purchase a Co-op in the past and now the board requires a 20% down, can they implement this without shareholders approval?

Your proprietary lease should address this. If it does not, the Board may change the requirement without a shareholder vote.

A flip tax does not deduct any improvements. It is only concerned with the final sale price of the apartment (or whatever structure it may follow), unless expressed otherwise.

The homeowners insurance company should cover instances of theft. Homeowner should file a police report. The insurance company will take it from there.

I was thinking the exact same thing for my 4 unit building. We have spectrum but was thinking it might be best to get FIOS. The big advantage is with FIOS you get upload AND download speeds that are very fast. Uploads speed is important if you do any online backups or sharing and don't want a backup to take 2 weeks. Normally each subscriber has to find a place to put those big boxes that convert the fiber to copper. Instead of having 4 of those bulky things - 1 in each apt, we could have one and put it in the basement. We would ensure privacy by getting a static ip address for each unit and a separate router for each unit. You may as well get the TV and phone package and get ALL the premium channels cause we would split the cost 4 ways. Could provide building wide WiFi as well and integrate with cameras and such. I was thinking of just calling the business office and get an account under the HOA name. Only problem is two of the unit owners will flat out go against any idea I contribute, no matter how much benefit or savings it would provide them.

Hi Richo….just remember you get EXACTLY what you pay for! Going with an off-brand may/probably cost you in the long run. What happens if a component fails? Where do you get the parts? Overseas? How long can you do without the intercom? Who will install the aftermarket parts once they come in?

Careful my friend! Sorry I couldn't agree with you!

I don't know about the legality of it, but the first thing I would do is find out if he can he hear every word that YOU say while he's in his apartment.

If he can, then I think a good argument can be made that your right to privacy is being violated solely by actions that your neighbor took - not you.

If he doesn't care that you hear everything he says, then that's fine. But, if he can hear everything you say and you don't want that, then he caused the problem and must fix it.

I would notify the Board if you have not already done so. The co-op's attorney may need to be consulted about this matter, too.

Good luck.

Agree with Marty. The situation you are describing, having raw cooking fumes venting into a habitable space, is an unsafe condition and almost assuredly a violation of Dept of Building regulations and code. You don't have liability in this situation, but your board needs to get involved. They need to review the alteration agreement to see if this venting was called out in the plans and part of the alteration approval. If it was, it does not absolve your upstairs neighbor from responsibility for complying with code, but it will probably cause your board to be more involved in this issue.

It it wasn't part of the plan, and the contractor just built it this way because it was convenient, then your neighbor and his contractor have a big additional renovation ahead. The configuration you described cannot remain because of the health and safety issues. Fumes from a kitchen can contain Carbon Monoxide, which is deadly.

Bottom line, IMHO, is that you are ok (just don't agree to anything, like "are you ok with the configuration?"), and your upstairs neighbor and their contractor are in deep dodo.

Has your managing agent and super inspected to make sure his over flow is open for water to drain out?If not he needs one. I would contact my insurance company and explain the problem they will bill the upstairs neighbors insurance company for all work that is needed. Example mold removal, plastering and painting. In the mean time the neighbor above needs to be aware of this problem and also have him contact his insurance company. You as a board member and president you need a managing agent (a good one) who can advise you on problems that is going on in your co-op. Let us know the results. Best of Luck and Happy Holidays.

I had a water leak from my upstairs neighbor, who left his toilet overflowing due to dementia related problems. I contacted my insurance company who brought in equipment to dry out the
apartment, remove damaged wallpaper from bathroom, and replaster and paint,
. The insurance company paid for our hotel while the work was done, and the cost of damaged items and restaurant meals. Of course, we notified the Management company. They sent a building insurance agent to inspect.
The upstairs neighbor was a renter, unlike us. I don’t know what his liability was. He soon afterwards moved to a nursing home.

Thank you peoples choice #1 and H for your responses. We are a self-managed building. The Board had a meeting with the upstairs neighbor last night who is very contrite and accepts responsibility for any costs incurred by the downstairs neighbor. Both have insurance. The upstairs neighbor agreed to buy Flood Water and Overflow Alarms (and did so immediately after the meeting). We also encouraged him to turn his phone off before turning on any water, which he agreed to do. This we believe is a distraction. He is on medication and that may be affecting his behavior. We told the downstairs neighbor that we will be having a mold inspection of the entire building early in 2019. It's necessary because of this flooding and it is also now required by the City.

I live on the top floor of a rental now where there are numerous cell phone towers. I didn't realize them going up at first but after a few months had difficulty in sleeping, nausea, muscle aches that I couldn't explain. I understood since then that these were due to the cell phone towers being directly above me on our paper thin pre war roof. They also have a low frequency hum that is audible. I am looking to move out asap now and I would suggest you discuss with your neighbors who live on the top floors and who these towers might affect.

This is a great idea, your building will generate lots of money with great savings to you as a share holder and do a lot of upgrades around your building. Without having an assessment.

With Solar Panels you do need to strengthen your roof while your doing that have them put a barrier underneath your roof and panels. This will prevent any people complaining they hear weird noise coming from beyond. Best of Luck and let us know what you decide to do and how much your going to save in the long run. Happy New Year

The answer is yes.

Hi Mary M - I'm not a lawyer, which is why I'm asking this question. It's been my understanding that a "Domestic Partnership" was a relationship device used by states that wanted to circumvent the federal ban on same-sex marriage. In these states, a Domestic Partnership granted all rights and privileges married individuals enjoyed to individuals in a same-sex relationship. I believe it required the filing of a formal declaration and/or document with the state courts.

Now that marriage is a right enjoyed by *all* couples, does a "Domestic Partnership" still have any legal or regulatory standing. Hasn't it been superseded by the right to marry?

I'm asking in the spirit of wondering if the HDFC can today look at a Domestic Partnership and decide that it has the same force and effect of a formal marriage in terms of combining the incomes of two individuals who are *not* legally married.

Thanks!
--- Steve

This is a potential abuse of HDFCs. We would never consider allowing a partner (whether legal or otherwise) to purchase a separate apartment. Many times people try to buy an apartment in our building and only put down the name of one applicant so they can qualify income-wise, but it's easy to find out that this is bogus. HDFCs have strict income guidelines and they should be adhered to.

Hi MaryM - Thanks for your thoughts on what is included as "income" for the purpose of HDFC residency. I did a little research, and found an official NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development booklet from April, 2018, that provids a definition of "family" when calculating income limits.

On page 5-1, the definition of a family is, "A husband, wife, son, daughter, unborn child (pregnancy must be documented), stepson, stepdaughter, father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, brother, sister, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or any other family member or person for whom the head of household can prove legal guardianship or a relationship based on dependency, blood, marriage or domestic partnership."

So the answer to the OP's original question is as MaryM stated. The OP might want to download the booklet because it contains a lot of information about HDFC rules and regulations.

It sounds like you have the the potential for a conflict of interest, but the transparency you described probably minimizes legal problems with the setup. A way of getting around the auditor issue is to have the board member/MA *propose* the auditor, and then the rest of the board reviews and votes to approve or reject. That way the auditor selection is owned by the entire board and not a single board member.

I am not a lawyer.