I live in a small condo. Several years ago there was a large assessment and many owners were upset at the cost. The Board President now wants all financial decisions to be voted on and approved by all owners. However, our By Laws state that financial decisions are the responsibility of the Board. How can I convince the Board President that we must restrict these decisions to Board members? Otherwise, we will never have another maintenance increase or assessment approved and the building will decay. As it is, it's been several years since we had a maintenance increase and we have been financing repairs through our reserve fund and of course the reserves are now much lower than before.
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Hi. We have a few apartments in my building that are still owned by the sponsor/holder of unsold shares prior to the conversion to a coop. He states that he is not required to have a licensed contractor to do his renovations.
Some back story. He is selling apartments now when the tenants move out, and opening walls, knocking down partial walls, redoing tiling, replacing kitchen cabinets, installing dishwashers, sanding and refinishing floors, replacing moldings, etc. Large amounts of debris are being removed.
It is a very old building, and the other shareholders are required to have licensed contractors for such renovations. The sponsor states that it is not construction and does not require a licensed contractor.
The board has had multiple conversations with our managment company to clarify that the renovations are being done properly (according to NYC law, and we asked that proof of license/insurance/workman’s comp and applicable permits be obtained. The sponsor is still oy complying and becomes very verbally abusive and threatening when questioned. We are trying to ensure the safety of our building and tenants.
He is now threatening me because I asked the managment company to make sure the applicable paperwork is in order before work is done.
According to NYC.gov a licensed contractor is required for such work. The sponsor is insisting it is not.
Can someone help clarify the situation?
Thanks
For a coop with 140 apartments how many Superintendents
are required ?
By NYState/NYCity law is it a certain ratio established related to the number of Supers/Apartments ?
As a multiple dwelling, is a co-op responsible for regular exterminating services?
Can a co-op charge back shareholders for this service?
Can a co-op waive the charge for resident shareholders but charge for non-residents who are subletting with the Board's approval - or rent regulated tenants of a Holder of Unsold Shares?
They cannot charge you for their own legal fees unless they have prevailed in a court action. Just thought I should remind people of this.
> Join the conversation Comments (2)Does anyone know if it's legally required to have a space for a coop's SHARES on a Proxy form? When I was on the board, we always included a line for that. The one I received this year (from a new Mgmt. company) does not include it. Thanks.
> Join the conversation Comments (3)I’m selling my coop unit, I signed already the buyers offer, but the board members of the complex are postponing and postponing the personal new buyer interview , due that they have leave for vacations and the buyer is in one hair to quit. I spoke with the manager, the President is the one out till October, and they said the vicepresident can’t do the job, that has to be the President with two more members. What can I do???? I’m losing money. Please help with advise
> Join the conversation Comments (1)There is a drain pipe that has been leaking into our garage since early July. The management put buckets under the leak to catch the water. They never came to inspect apartments running along the pipe. This holiday weekend I noticed water damage on my kitchen wall and ceiling that the pipe runs alongside. My ceiling is brown, paint bubbling and water dripping. The manager called me on Sunday as I left a message with service and I told her my ceiling has water damage and I was told the super will be back on Tuesday and will call me to come look. Tuesday I take off work to be home and super never shows up, I find out at noon from the Porter that he didn't come to work and nobody called or notified me. Wednesday I stop at the management office and the woman in charge is defensive when I complain about not being notified that she wasn't in because of Jewish holiday and didnt know that super was out but she had left him a note and I should have called the office. Today is Friday, 6 days since management has been notified and I have heard nothing about what they are doing to fix this pipe. They have allowed this leak to continue for 2 months and now I feel there is mold growing on my ceiling and they are in no rush to address it. It is still leaking. Is this not total negligence on management part? How can I deal with a property manager who doesn't want to address real problems?
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Now that the Prevailing Wage bill has been signed into law by Gov. Hochul, how are coops and condos with live-in supers planning to deal with this? In many buildings (including ours), a significant part of the super's compensation is a rent-free apartment. But non-cash compensation seems unlikely to satisfy the requirements of the new law, especially when no explicit value has been placed on it. I have not heard any guidance on this so far. Thoughts?
One possibility - assuming it passes legal muster (I'm not a lawyer) - would be to make the rental value explicit by charging the super rent while paying a higher salary to cover that rent, meeting the requirements of the new law. This would of course be burdensome and ludicrous for everyone.
I haven't been on the site recently. Just wondering if The blog has changed from it's original Q&A. I Notice pooh responding to all the questions. Is pooh the new
Respondent for thus site. Thanks. :-)
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How do the other board members feel about the president's odd position? Assuming the president is in the minority, that's the end of the matter. If a majority of the board has voted to raise maintenance or impose an assessment, the president has no override power.
If a majority of the board feels the same way, then it's trickier. At least in our Proprietary Lease (we're a coop), maintenance is "as determined by the Board of Directors." This grants power to the board to make the decision on its own, as is customary. However, I don't read this as a *prohibition* of using a shareholder vote to make the determination. I do agree it's a bad idea that abrogates one of the primary responsibilities of being a board member.
On the other hand, I'm not a lawyer, so you may want to consult one.
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