LEGAL/FINANCIAL

An extremely important tax deadline is coming up in a little more than a week. We're talking about the deadline for New York City's co-op/condo abatement. This benefit can save eligible apartment owners a significant amount of real estate taxes. Typically, the abatement is 17.5 percent, but it may be as much as 28.1 percent in some buildings.

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Navigating the world of New York real estate is no easy feat. Any co-op or condo owner can attest to that fact, even if they aren't in the 1 percent that seems to be the main focus of real estate news as luxury condos continue popping up all over the city. When you sell a co-op or condo, the road from signed contract to closed sale can be, as one Beatle once put it, a long and winding one. Brickunderground.com explains that the amount of time it can take depends on the "kind of apartment you’ve got, the demand for it, and you and your buyer’s ability and desire to finalize the deal quickly." It also breaks down the milestones co-op and condo owners can expect when getting ready to sell in the city in this neat infographic. Click it again to enlarge.

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There are three critical elements of any successful underlying mortgage refinancing: planning, pricing, and processing. If you're planning to refinance your underlying mortgage, read on to see how you can make the process go as smoothly as possible.

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It was a question of security. The Sands, a 111-unit, 14-story co-op at 321 East 45 Street, was having intercom problems. Although the property, between First and Second Avenues, has a doorman on duty from 4 P.M. to midnight, residents were concerned about relying on the 56-year-old intercom as the only watchdog.

"The system was pretty much under continual repair because there seemed to be some internal wiring problems due to its age," recalls Tom Uhl, a board member. "In my own unit, I could release the door from my apartment, but I couldn't hear the doorman or any guests on the phone or they couldn't hear me. So it came down to the point where if I knew visitors were coming, they called me on the cellphone from the vestibule, and I released the door. But if I had a surprise guest or somebody was delivering something, and they didn't have my cellphone number, it was a problem."

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For 50 years, the American Bible Society has called 1865 Broadway home. But after half a century, the nonprofit bible distributor is packing up and heading to Philadelphia. The society is funding that relocation with the $300 million it got for selling its coveted headquarters to residential real estate company AvalonBay Communities, reports the New York Daily News. What's the future of 1865 Broadway? Nothing's set in stone yet, but condos are a definite maybe. So keep your eyes peeled, potential condo buyers, because when it comes to location, location, location, you can't go wrong with primo posh digs near Central Park.

Photo by Matthew Haines for Property Shark.

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The great French novelist Honoré de Balzac did not have a high opinion of bureaucracies or the people who work in them. "A bureaucracy," he wrote, "is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies."

After two vicious floods and an epic battle with municipal, county, state, and federal bureaucracies, the board of directors and the professionals at the Brooklands co-op in Bronxville could be excused for sharing Balzac's dim view of bureaucracies and bureaucrats. Miraculously, they do not. This is the story of why — and also a story of what your board can expect if it's ever forced to go up against the giant governmental mechanism known as a bureaucracy.

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It used to be that co-ops got the bum rap for requiring potential buyers and renters to fill out extensive applications, but it looks like condos are starting to follow suit. Just ask a condo owner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who writes to Ronda Kaysen in the latest "Ask Real Estate" column in The New York Times. "The board has instituted a process for renting out units that involves a lengthy application and significant fees. The board says the process is allowed under its right of first refusal, which allows the board to rent a unit under the same terms that the unit is offered." The condo owner wants to know whether the board can use its right of first refusal in this manner and whether it can be stopped. Kaysen explains that a "building’s bylaws determine whether a board can require an application and fees for renting out a unit." If it's in the bylaws, there's not much this condo unit can do to challenge. And if it's not in the bylaws? Well, it's a case of knowing when to pick your battles. The condo owner can ask the board to review its procedures but any legal action would probably cost more than the application fee.

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My friend Octavia was in a quandary. "I need a new boiler," she informed me, "but I don't know how big it should be."

"If I had to surmise, I'd say probably a lot smaller than what it is now," I offered somewhat drily. "How big is the existing one, and by the way, how do you know you need a new one?"

Before replying directly, Octavia reminded me of the facts concerning her 25-unit building. The heating plant, which provided both heat and domestic hot water (DHW), was 50 boiler horsepower (BHP). It was now leaking water out of the back end. The heating season was a month away, and she had two fairly old bids in hand: one for another 50-horse unit, and the other for a 60-horse unit!

A wistful sigh escaped my lips, unfortunately loud enough for her to hear. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

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Celebrity and clout didn't help fashion designer Cynthia Rowley any after renovations to her townhouse on 30 Perry Street ticked off condo owners in the building next door. And now she's getting sued. The lawsuit alleges that Rowley didn't check with the condo board of the historic 28 Perry Street building "before installing a set of three plumbing and ventilation pipes on the outside walls of their building," reports DNAinfo, nor did she get the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission's (LPC) okay. Uh-oh. Neither the board's lawyer nor Rowley returned DNAinfo's requests for comments; however, a spokesperson for the LPC confirmed that the commission issued permits for the work being done in Rowley's building, adding that it has not received any complaints. Will Rowley be able to complete her renovation project, which involves adding a penthouse and replacing pipes that connect to the boiler, fireplace, and cooking fixtures? Will the 28 Perry Street condo owners succeed in having Rowley remove the pipes, obstructions, and debris, and pay damages and legal fees? We'll be watching this latest battle unfold.

Photo by Nicholas Strini for Property Shark.

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New York City's Façade Inspection Safety Program (FISP), also called Local Law 11, requires that owners of buildings with six or more stories above an exposed basement wall undergo an exterior inspection every five years. The law is currently in its seventh cycle, but after February 21, Cycle 8 will begin, and boards will want to confirm with their management companies that all the necessary steps are taken to ensure that all reports and supplemental forms are submitted. 

Included with the Cycle 7 reports, all buildings that need to comply with Local Law 11 now have to go one step further and inspect all balconies, terraces, handrails, canopies, antennae, satellite dishes, air conditioners, and fire escapes and file a supplemental statement.

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