HOW TO RUN YOUR BUILDING!

Tracking your building’s financial health can be confusing, and one of the reasons is that your building’s bank balance doesn’t tell the whole story. In this episode, Thomas Thibodeaux, CFO at New Bedford Management, explains what items create misleading cash positions and offers some strategies boards can use to understand what is really going on. Habitat’s Carol Ott conducts the interview.

Historically co-ops and condos have been able to borrow money for building improvements and compliance requirements in an affordable way. With interest rates still high, this is not an attractive option any more. In this episode, Andre Kaplan, CFO of Orsid New York, provides some practical solutions for keeping your building financially healthy while managing resident expectations. Habitat’s Emily Myers conducts the interview.

Water damage is not a unique occurrence in residential apartment buildings, but a recent crisis at an Upper East Side co-op got complicated to fix. Water was pooling in the boiler room and seeping into the electric meter room, and a shareholder’s apartment was damaged. Aaron Weber, property manager at Weber Realty Management, shares the challenging tale of investigation, dye testing, insurance denials, financing, and a neighboring embassy's collapsed sewer line — and how the co-op finally solved the issue. Habitat’s Emily Myers conducts the interview.

One of the most pressing challenges facing NYC co-ops and condos is how to  fund expensive local law compliance requirements. In this episode Armin Radoncic, principal at Venture New York Property Management, outlines the primary funding strategies used by New York’s co-ops and condos. Corporate structures require different strategies, but no matter what yours is Radoncic emphasizes the need to set aside emotional responses when making crucial funding decisions. Habitat’s Paula Chin conducts the interview.

Transitioning from a developer to a condo board can bring unwelcome surprises and stark choices. That was the case at a Brooklyn condo, when new management took over and discovered owners were paying only half the amount needed to cover basic operating expenses. The artificially low monthly charges—which had attracted many first-time buyers—were temporarily masked by reserve funds that were rapidly depleting.  Anes Radoncic, managing partner at VNYPM, tells the tale to Habitat’s Paula Chin, from discovering the shortfall to the board’s bold move towards financial stability.

While the dazzle of the latest energy reduction solutions is out of bounds for many co-ops and condos, the tried and true can often achieve just as much. That’s the case at the Imperial Sanford co-op in Queens, where substantial incentives boosted a fuel switch and window replacement program that is expected to reduce energy consumption by 65-70% or more. Evangelos Fantakos, CEO of Highrise Property Management, shares what the upgrades were, how much they cost and who they partnered with to achieve this success. Habitat’s Emily Myers conducts the interview.

A primary responsibility of the board of directors is protecting the building’s financial health. To do that, transparency is paramount. In this episode Michell Abubo, managing partner at Highrise Property Management, shares a case study of a Queens co-op where a lack of transparency was deadly, ultimately leading to a change in management. Habitat’s Paula Chin conducts the interview.

Board inertia is a corporate disease that many members grapple with. Decisions get put off, problems grow and ultimately the health of the housing association suffers. In this episode, Andy Marks, Executive Vice President at Maxwell-Kates, explores what causes inertia and offers some guidance on how to break through it. Habitat’s Paula Chin conducts the interview.

A cautionary tale of facade repairs at an Upper East Side condo, where initial estimates of $550,000 ballooned to $1.2 million after engineers discovered insufficient brick ties during Local Law 11 inspections. Maxwell-Kates SVP Josh Holzer shares how the board navigated this crisis through refinancing, staff reductions, and a contractor payment plan. Habitat's Emily Myers conducts the interview.

If a co-op or condo building operates at a deficit, there are only two outcomes – payables are late and cash erodes. That’s what Daniel Wollman, CEO of Gumley Haft, found when he was re-hired at a condominium his firm had managed over a decade ago. How its financial condition eroded and the steps it took to regain financial health are shared in this interview, conducted by Habitat’s Carol Ott.