BOARD OPERATIONS

Jan. 11, 2010 — Without decisive action, co-op boards and condo associations can find themselves shut out of cooperative apartments and condominium units. In one recent example, a shareholder complained of leaks and mold — but then refused to allow workers in to fix the problem. After years of unanswered letters from management, the shareholder ended up in court and was quickly required to open his doors.

Years? It should never have reached that point. A co-op or condo board or its representatives can gain entrance to almost any apartment for a valid reason. Nearly every property has rules and bylaws that require residents to open up their homes in case of emergency, or to allow necessary work. But the process takes time, and you need to prepare properly.

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Jan. 6, 2010 — It's an issue New York City co-op and condo boards face that boards elsewhere often do not: What do you do when you want to restore a landmarked building to its grand, original look — especially when that grand, original look included turn-of-last-century gas-lantern lampposts?

For the 130-apartment, three-building co-op at 137-145-149 West 12th Street, in a landmarked district of Greenwich Village, it meant finding original photos and getting them to Herwig Lighting of Russellville, Ark., population 27,000. (Click on image to enlarge.)

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Dec. 23, 2009 — Should a co-op board and its property manager require all shareholders to carry apartment insurance? While each building is its own separate situation, consider the experiences of the owners of a two-bedroom co-op apartment in Manhattan, who came home from a long weekend to slosh their way over a wet floor and find water dripping down the walls and through a hanging light. The place was wrecked: wallpaper and paintings ruined, floors warped, furniture wet and damaged, items in closets and dressers damp, and the threat of mold apparent. Even with the water shut off, they wouldn't have been able to stay in the apartment until it was fixed.

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Dec. 21, 2009 — Winter is the traditional season reserved for annual meetings and the election of new co-op and condo officers and directors. The individuals elected to serve their associations represent homeowners' interests in order to govern according to the Declaration of Corporation or of the Condominium. Some have had extensive business experience, which can be very helpful. Others have no experience at all, which in some cases can be just as helpful. I know of no real practical experience or training that will prepare anyone for being on a board: It is a unique endeavor, in that you are dealing in business with friends, neighbors and a group of different personalities.

The inexperienced face common mistakes in administering an association. Some mistakes can be rectified through education and practical experience. Most can be solved with a common sense. And all of it, says John R. Math, owner of the 21-year-old real estate and property management firm Associated Property Management in Lake Worth, Fla., starts by recognizing, here, the 15 most common mistakes for new officers and directors.

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Dec. 16, 2009 — How does a board avoid a construction dispute regarding the performance of a major capital improvement project? The short answer: due diligence.

Take this real-world example. The board had selected an engineer to prepare specifications and perform oversight for a major capital improvement project. He was. unfortunately, unfamiliar with municipal requirements and/or local guidelines mandating certain approvals from both the Department of Buildings and the Board of Health. The project had to be stopped midway through for the submission of revised plans and approvals for the latter.

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A monthly column by HABITAT's editorial director.

Dec. 7, 2009 — In my youth, I always admired TV's premier attorney, Perry Mason. In every episode of the series, steely but sensitive Perry (Raymond Burr) would take on a client who was apparently guilty, persevere in a seemingly hopeless case even when his client lied to him, and undertake countless hours of detective work (never mind researching the law — he seemed to know instinctively its every twist and turn). In the end, he would not only prove his client innocent but uncover the guilty party in a dramatic courtroom confrontation as well. And to top it off, the only time a fee was mentioned was when Perry would waive it or turn it over to some needy person.

Everyone says Perry Mason is a fantasy, and even as a teenager watching reruns of the series in the sixties, I knew that the existence of such an attorney was unlikely. Nonetheless, the image persisted in my subconscious, so I was not surprised by the generous nature of some of the lawyers I dealt with in everyday life.

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Nov. 30, 2009 — Two of our clients, neighboring cooperatives located in a residentially zoned neighborhood, discovered that a nearby church was being converted into a catering hall — not only an incompatible use, but an impermissible one under current zoning. As we subsequently learned, the church had entered into a long-term lease with a commercial caterer — and for the effect it had on the neighborhood level of noise, garbage, traffic and much else, there would be the Devil to pay.

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Nov. 23, 2009 — It wasn't a lawsuit threat. It was just some blowhard venting, the way blowhards do. Yet that was enough to make a co-op's insurance carrier abandon a board. Here's the backstory — and the ultimately illegal loophole that the insurance company tried to use.

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Nov. 23, 2009 — Most of us are fortunate enough to have family and friends to call upon if our mental and physical capacities have become diminished. But what happens in the tragic and unfortunate circumstance where a shareholder's ability to care for himself or herself has become diminished and no known family member or friend is willing to intercede? What about when a shareholder has lost a job and maintenance arrears pile up? Is there a way to behave both legally and sympathetically?

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Nov. 18, 2009 — Eleven years ago, the president of our Jackson Heights cooperative, where my wife and I had been living for a year, asked me to run for a seat on the nine-member board. The president said my experience as an electrical engineer and as vice president of a technology company would be helpful in providing a different perspective and insight into day-to-day operations of the four buildings and 437 units of the Roosevelt Terrace cooperative.

For my first three years, I felt out of my element. What did it all mean? The biggest question in my mind was why did most of our residents seem to dislike the board? After all, we were all volunteers, working for their benefit.

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