SITE MAP: M TO Z

Articles by topic through December 2012: Scroll down to the topic you want, or just do a simple word search.

A to L ● M to Z

 

Managing Agents / Self-Management
Bad Property Management: A Veteran Manager's Three Nightmare Scenarios

Balancing Resident Experts' Help with Your Paid Professionals' Expertise

BOO! No, Not a Ghost: Just "Back-Office Only" Management for Small Buildings

Communicating with Your Property Manager: How to Do It Right

Cutting Legal Costs by Utilizing Management for Specific Tasks

Did You Know ... Some Management Companies Are Also Energy Brokers?

Does Your Co-op / Condo Managing Agent Come Up with New Initiatives?

Everything You Need to Know About Your Co-op / Condo Property Manager (Annual Survey 2011)
Exclusive: A Charter Management Agent on the Company Corruption Scandal

Find Co-op / Condo Property Managers Using "Request for Proposal" Forms

Great Expectations: What Boards Want from Managers — And What They Get

Hidden Fees from Property Managers! How to Spot Them — And Avoid Them
How — and When — to Find a New Managing Agent
How Co-op / Condo Boards Can Get Free of Sponsors as Property Managers
How to Interview for a Managing Agent

New Online Co-op / Condo Management Site Targets Self-Managers

Primer: What Do Co-op / Condo Managing Agents Do — And Not Do?

Should Your Small Building Trade "Back Office Only" Firm for Management Co.?

Toxic Co-op / Condo Boards: Why Your Professionals May Want to Drop You

 

Misc.

The Amazing Spider-Man v. the Obnoxious Co-op Board President!

Attorney and Habitat Columnist Richard Siegler Honored by NY Law School

Block Assocations
Bulk Buying: A Primer

Bulk Buying Saves Money — But Are There Tradeoffs? The Pros and Cons

Condo & Co-op Board Meeting Seating: The Psychology of Efficiency

Condo or Condon't: How to Turn a Co-op into a Condo Without It Turning Bad
Congrats-on-Your-Condo Cards
Co-op/Condo Quiz: Do Your Residents Think You're a Lousy Board Member?
Construction, Condemnation and the Second Avenue Subway

Covert Operation Secretly Copied Meeting Minutes. Did It Steal Yours?

Forming a Co-op Through "Third-Party Transfer": Will the Residents Succeed?

HDFC Low-Income Co-ops: The Last Gasp of Affordable Housing?

A HABITAT Holiday Special: " 'Twas the Night Before Meeting"

Handling a Hoarder Badly: Don't Dispose of Belongings without a Court Order

Hercules Donates Laundry Equip. to Ronald McDonald House

How Does the Stock Market Affect My Co-op Shares?

Jack Romita, Sr., Castle Oil Corporation Senior Vice President Dies at Age 81

Leading Attorney Reveals: Top 10 Signs Your Co-op / Condo May Be in Trouble

Secret Land-Grab of Sutton Place: NYC Rescues Public Property from a Co-op

Naming Your Co-op / Condo: A Virtually Free Way to Upscale Your Image

New Program Helps Condo / Co-op Boards Make Residents' Charity Easy

Rent-Regulated Apartment Dilemma: When Co-op Boards MUST Act

Sex-Offender Son of a Former Board President Moves In. What Do You Do?

Should Your Building Run a Restaurant? A Cautionary Tale

The Top 10 Co-op / Condo Quotes of 2010

 The Top 10 Co-op / Condo Quotes of 2011
The United Workers Co-op in The Bronx: Practical Lessons on PBS

Using Rent Receiverships to Collect Rent from Abandoned Condo Apartments

 

Mold

Apartment Mold: Taking a Neighborly Approach When It's a Neighbor's Fault

Breaking the Mold: A Model Sues Her Condo, Claiming Toxic Apartment

Mold in a Co-op/Condo: What Boards Must Know to Prevent Litigation

Mold in Apartments: Why Boards Should Address It Quickly

Mold Problem? Old Problem. An Attorney Explains What's New in Dealing with It

 

Monthly Charges (Maintenance, Common Charges, Arrears)
Arrears and Late Payments: A Strategy for Collecting
Arrears and Sublets: Be Firm But Flexible
Collecting Arrears: Getting Maintenance and Common Charges from Dawdlers
Co-op Late Fees Work

Deadbeat Neighbors Cost You Money! How Condo Boards CAN Collect Arrears

• How Condo Boards CAN Collect Arrears, Part 2: Shaming and No Amenities

Delinquent Payments! Collecting from Co-op Shareholders & Condo Owners

Exclusive: An Arrest in Photographer & Supermodel Condo-Arrears Case

How a Condo Board Can Collect Arrears By Using a Little-Known Tool Called DILF

I Bought (From) the Sheriff: A Solution for Delinquent Condo Owners without Assets

Is Your Co-op Maintenance Too High? Too Low? Find Out Here Now
Point-and-Click: Homeowners' Monthly Payments Go High-Tech

Three Steps to Promptly Collecting Payments and Assessments: A Primer

 

Mortgage / Loan / Refinancing

An Attorney Says: Co-ops Refinancing Mortgages Need to Lawyer Up Quickly

Analysis: A Mortgage Executive on Refinancing During the Economic Crisis
Banking on Mortgage-Interest Changes: What Happens when the Fed Cuts Rates
Changes Coming to NYSERDA Low-Interest Energy Loans
Condo Associations CAN Borrow: A Mortgage Broker Tells You How

Co-op Refinancing: The Less-Obvious Factors That Affect Your Interest Rate

Creative Refinancing: Three Boards Beat the Odds to Find the Perfect Mortgage

Defeating Defeasance, a Prepayment Penalty the Size of Jupiter

Deftco Dupe: How a Finance Company May Have Ripped Off Four Co-ops

For Lenders, Ownership Profile Is a Factor when Co-ops Look to Refinance
Lenders & Brokers Tell All: How to Get a Great Mortgage in Today's Economy

A Loan Again, Naturally: Three Boards Score in Non-Mortgage Situations

Loan Arranger: Top Fed Guidelines Co-op / Condo Boards Need to Know

A Mortgage Broker Explains: Condos CAN Take Out Bank Loans. Here's How.

A Mortgage Broker Reveals: Co-ops' Deadly Dozen Refinancing Mistakes

Mortgage Commitments: A Broker Explains Why Banks Rush You into Them
New Lender Offers Co-ops / Condos Competitive Mortgages to Go Green
Refinancing in These Tough Economic Times: How Three Co-ops Did It, Part 1
Refinancing in These Tough Economic Times: How Three Co-ops Did It, Part 2
Refinancing Your Mortgage: A Primer
Reverse Mortgages Becoming More Prevalent in Co-ops and Condos

Reverse Mortgages: What They Are, and Why Boards Should Allow Them

Shocker: Why Long-Term Co-op / Condo Borrowing May Be Bad, Short-Term Good

Should Co-ops Hire a Mortgage Broker When Refinancing?

Should You Wait for Lower Interest Rates to Refinance Your Underlying Mortgage?
When Repair Refinancing Splits a Board: Get the Loan First, or the Contractor?

Why Can't Small Co-ops Seem to Get Loans? A Mortgage Broker Explains
Your Air Rights Aren't All Yours: Lenders' New Nickel-and-Dime Squeeze Play
 
New Products 
The Weekly New Product
Previous New Products
 
Parking Garage

Board Service: Michael O’Brien on Practical Car-Parking Policies

Co-op Spearheads Electric-Vehicle Push with Chargers Open to Public
Earning a Lot from Parking 
Flash-Flood Fix for the 21st Century: Mechanized Sandbags 
Generating Garage Revenue from Charging Up Electric Cars 
Sinking Garages ... City and Developer Irresponsibility: A Special Report 
 
Pets / Other Animals
Co-op/Condo Pets Controversy: Two Attorneys on Latest Developments

Dog Day Aftermath: Suing the Board for Making Dogs Use the Service Elevator

'Harassment' by Condo's Management May Have Led to Resident's Suicide

How One Board's Fight Against a Therapy Dog Became a Federal Case
Judge Rules: Co-op Shareholders Can Keep Illegal Pet ... Despite Lying About It!

Pit Bulls as Therapy Dogs: Navigating Legal Dangers of "Dangerous Breeds"

Selfish Pet-Owners Strike Again: Rule-Breakers Thwart Majority in No-Pet Co-op
Service Animals in Co-ops / Condos: The Law and What Boards Should Require
When a Co-op Board Forbidding a Dog Helped Save a Woman's Life

 

Print 'Em Out Checklists
10 Practical Ways to Green Your Building
10 Signs of Co-op / Condo Financial Trouble: A Print 'Em Out Checklist
10 Ways to Save on Co-op/Condo Capital Projects
15 Common Mistakes Made by New Board Members 
Co-op/Condo Insurance and Reducing Liability 
Financial Management Tips 
Five Important Mobile Apps for Property Management 
Service-Provider Tips 
 
Property Manager See: Managing Agent
 
Quality of Life Issues

A Condo Board's Inaction on Noise Exposes Loopholes in the Law

Being Koi: How One Ordinary Co-op Created an Extraordinary Garden

Building Neighborly Ties with Co-op / Condo Holiday Activities
Can Building-Amenities Build Community?
City's New "Lawn Litter" Law: Two Steps You Can Take to Stop Unwanted Menus 
Co-op / Condo Corporate Sponsorship: How One Complex Branded Itself 
Co-op Crime: What You Can and Must Do Against Criminal Activity in Apartments 
Cond-ops: A Horror Story

Flower Plantings Can Beautify Co-ops / Condos...or Damage Them. Here's How.
Free Trees: How to Get Them for Your Sidewalk 
Deadly Tree Infestation: What to Do When Asian Longhorned Beetles Attack
Fight Back When Neighboring Buildings Impair Your Quality of Life! 

Here's How to Handle Noise Complaints Among Co-op and Condo Neighbors

Multi-Building Cooperation: How Co-op Board Davids Battled the Goliath MTA
New Court Ruling Should Prompt Co-ops & Condos to Update BBQ Rules Now
Noise Complaints and the New 2007 Law
Sea Change at Atlantic Towers: Redoing Lobbies from Institutional to Incredible
Selfish Condo Owner and Lackadaisical Board Equally to Blame for Noise Trauma

What's a Board to Do About Noise — When It's the One Making a Racket?

When Homeowners Harass and Board Members Bully: Strategies to Stop It

 

Residents, Board Relationship with

A Co-op Dispute Over 15 Sq. Feet Leads to a Bruising, Avoidable Court Fight
Alterations, Not Altercations
Attorneys Tell: How Condo Boards Can Win When Sued for Delaying Apt. Repairs

Avoiding Conflict with Your Co-op and Condo Neighbors: A 12-Point Guide

Co-op Coup! Midnight Elections, Competing Boards and a Divided Building
Condo Fined $10,000 for Forbidding Religious Item on Apartment Door 
Conducting Surveys to Gauge Residents' Thinking and Placate Critics 

Courts Seldom Let Individual Board Members Get Sued. Except When….
Dear Resident: Co-op / Condo Board Members Need Care and Feeding, Too

Dirty Tricks and Sneak Attacks Oust a Condo-Board President

Difficult Residents ... and How Co-op / Condo Boards Can Best Deal with Them
Dissident Residents: Communication Is Key to Avoiding "Shadow Boards"

Enforcing Co-op / Condo Rules: How to Avoid Waiver and Selective Enforcement

Every Building Has One: How to Get Gadflies to Shut up and Pitch In
Greying Area: Adjusting as Residents Grow Old and Infirm

Hell's Kitchen Heat: A "Derivative Action" Suit vs. a Co-op Board Backfires Badly

Here's the Bad News: Ways of Effectively Communicating Tough Decisions
How to Handle the Five Most Frequent Co-op/Condo Owner Complaints

Is Your Co-op / Condo Board Overregulating Rule Violations?

Listen Up: What Happens When Co-op / Condo Owners Request a Board Hearing

Mediation: Less Expensive and Just Nicer than Taking Neighbors to Court
Multiculturalism and You: Embracing the Melting Pot without Getting Burned

New Buyers Beware the "Imperious" Co-op/Condo Board — Or IS It?

Protecting the Building when Residents Try to Sneak In Unapproved Alterations

Secretive Boards Have Led to Open- Meeting Laws. Could It Happen Here?
Seniors Talk the Talk, Board Says Take a Walk: Co-op Controversy Spills into Media 

• Staten Island Seniors, Part 2: Condo Controversy Coming to Court
• Staten Island Seniors & Condo Board Reach Settlement on Chatting in Lobby
• Condo Board Files Notice to Appeal in the Case of the Staten Island Seniors

Understanding Apathy Among Co-op and Condo Resident

When Co-op Shareholders & Condo Unit-Owners Sue, They Sue Themselves
When Residents Attack: A Lawyer Tells Condo & Co-op Boards How to Stay Safe

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Creative: Settle and Buy Them Out

Worst. Shareholder. Ever. See What Can Happen When You Don't Pull a "Pullman"

 

Retail Space 
Commercial Tenants and the Tax Escalator 
Keeping Your Commercial Space Working During the Downturn 
Retail Space and 80/20: Getting More from Your Store  
Selling Your Co-op's Commercial Space: A Case Study 
 
Revenue-Raising 
Air Rights: One Attorney's Experience 
Basement Space: Notes from the Underground 
Billboards on Co-ops/Condos: How to Make Money on Signage & Avoid Fines
Co-op / Condo Chargeback Systems Make Money and Help Staff & Residents
Co-op / Condo Corporate Sponsorship: How One Complex Branded Itself

Co-op Fees: The Habitat Survey on What Boards are Charging For...and How Much
Earning a Lot from Parking 
Film Productions at Your Building: Show Me the Money 
Identifying Cash Assets: A Tale of Three Co-ops

MAKE Money on a Roof Replacement! How a Co-op Board Sold Roof Decks

Right of First Refusal: Flipping a Below-Market Apartment 
Selling Air Rights 
Selling Common Space: A Primer 
Telecom to My House: Renting Roof Space

 

Roof Repair / Replacement

Babe Roof: A Complex in The Bronx Gets Some Beautiful New Surfaces

Cool Roof, Blue Roof, Green Roof ... Your Roof? Latest Eco-Friendly Options

Found in Yonkers: A Roof Renovation Without Drama
Green-Roofs Tax Abatement and Alt-Energy Initiatives Signed Into Law 
Greening Your Roof: You Can Do It, and It'll Be Great. Here's How, and Why…

MAKE Money on a Roof Replacement! How a Co-op Board Sold Roof Decks

Patch or Repair? The Eternal Question Catches Up to a Co-op with a Roof Leak

Unseen Danger! When Roof Damage Goes Undetected Because of No Leak

 

Security 
Co-op Crime: What You Can and Must Do Against Criminal Activity in Apartments 

Debating Co-op / Condo Security: How Much Cost for How Much Safety?

Do You Have Realistic Expectations for Your Co-op / Condo Security Guards?

How Co-op / Condo Background Checks Can Keep Out Criminals
Threats and Attack: When Board Members Face Danger and Violence

When Residents Attack: A Lawyer Tells Condo & Co-op Boards How to Stay Safe

 

Smoking Bans

Butt Out: A Yorkville Condo Goes Smoke-Free. Here's How It Did It

Condominiums CAN Go Smoke-Free: Two Condo Boards' Instructive Efforts

How to Enact Building-Wide Smoking Bans in Co-op and Condos

How to Successfully Change Your Proprietary Lease to Ban Smoking
Implementing Smoking Bans: Taking the Gradual Approach

Momentum Gathers for Smoking Bans. Two Attorneys Tell How To Implement

More Momentum for Smoke-Free Co-ops and Condos, with Help from HUD

 
Staff 

Avoiding Fines with Co-op / Condo Workers' New Pension-Plan Payments
Background Checks Disallowed? When Residents Are at Risk 
Boards & Bonuses: Some Holiday Tips

Bronx Co-op / Condo Workers Rally as Strike Looms

• Co-op / Condo Boards Relieved as Bronx Workers Get Contract, Averting Strike

A Building Super Grows in Kew Gardens — To Become Co-op Board President

Building Superintendents: A Primer

Clothes Call: Everything You Need to Know About Building-Staff Uniforms
Co-op City Workers' Strike Continues as Politicians Urge Negotiation

• Co-op City Workers' Strike Is Over

Co-op/Condo Chargeback Systems Make Money and Help Staff & Residents

Co-op / Condo Workers in The Bronx May Strike; 1,000+ Buildings at Risk
Doormen: A Primer 
Free Greening Program: Save the Planet, One Super at a Time 
Green Supers: A Property Mgr. Takes the Free Union Workshop and Reports
Green Supers Workshop: A Property Manager's Report from Day Two
Green Supers Workshop: Day Three

Hiring Honest Staff for Your Co-op or Condo: An Expert Tells You How
Holiday Tipping: How Much and Why. Plus Some Handy Formulas

How Co-op / Condo Background Checks Can Keep Out Criminals
How Co-op & Condo Boards Can Prepare for a Possible Doorman/Porter Strike
New Supreme Court Ruling Mandates Arbitration in Union Firings 
Part-Time Supers: Managing Them — Or Dismissing Them — Effectively

Staff Performing Side Jobs Is a Building Boon — If Boards Take Precautions

Strike Averted, Deal Set for Doormen, Porters, Handymen & Small-Bldg Supers
Surviving a Union Audit

The Total Guide to Holiday Tipping for Boards, Residents & Santas Everywhere
When Supers Become Disabled: What Happens Now?

You Need to Keep Logs of When You Shovel Snow and Ice! Here's Why.

 
Subletting (Co-op) and Leasing (Condo)
Arrears and Sublets: Be Firm But Flexible

From the Editor: How to Get Smart About Illegal Sublets

How to Set a Practical and Fair Co-op Sublet or Condo Leasing Policy

Opportunity in a Shareholder's Misfortune: Sublet Limits Force a Foreclosure

Practical Ways to Fight Illegal Sublets — Including Hiring a Private Investigator
Proposed New Law Would Ban Short-Term Co-op & Condo Rentals
Reconsidering Sublets to Forestall Foreclosures

Still Subletting After All These Years — Till the Board Says No, Despite Promises

Subletting Your Imagination Go Wild: Weird, Wacky Eviction of an Illegal Hotel

When Condo Owners Turn Apartments into Hotel Rooms: What Can a Board Do?
 
Taxes

An Attorney Warns: Don't Fall for the "Façade Easement" Tax Scam!

Are You Certain It's Certiorari? What to Know about the NYC Tax Commission

Challenging Your Tax Assessment: Tactics from a Tax Attorney, Part 1 
Challenging Your Tax Assessment: Tactics from a Tax Attorney, Part 2
Commercial Tenants and the Tax Escalator 

Condo / Co-op Quick Hits: How Big a Property-Tax Hike, Other Issues
Condo Tax Rebates — Divvying Up Money, Stepping into a Minefield
Co-op & Condo Property Tax Abatement Dies in Albany – Now What? [June 2012]

• Bulletin: Albany Announces Co-op / Condo Tax Abatement Renewed [July 2012]

Co-op / Condo Tax Protest Reaches Commissioner; May Spread Thru City

• Co-op / Condo Property-Tax Revolt Brings New Legislation, Citywide Tax Cap
• Co-op / Condo Tax-Revolt: Fireworks at Packed Meeting with Tax Commish
• Finance Dept. Admits Computer "Glitch" in Huge Co-op/Condo Tax Overvaluation
• NYC Tax Commissioner Announces 10% Assessment Cap on Co-Ops, Condos
• Property-Tax Changes Imminent for New York Co-ops and Condos
• City Council Promises Co-op / Condo Tax-Cap Extension and Lower Taxes

Co-ops & Condos Prepare for the Repeal of a $75 Million Energy Tax Break

Despite Report, Politicians Uncertain Co-op/Condo Tax Abatement Will Continue

Fighting Back When Banks Grow Fat on Inflated Property-Tax Escrows 
How to Challenge a Tax Assessment 
How to Reduce a Tax Assessment: A Case Study 
Lowering Your Tax-Assessment Value: How to Be Legitimately Gloomy

More Outrageous Tax Behavior from NYC Finance Dept.
New Auditing Guidelines: Two Accountants Add Up the Stricter Rules

New Database Helps Co-op / Condo Boards & Residents Find Tax Refunds

Our Tax-Pro Talks: Outrage When Tax Department 'Comparables' Aren't
Power Companies Overcharging Some Co-ops & Condos: How to Stop Them 
Property-Tax Abatement Extended [June 17, 2008]

Property-Tax Changes Imminent for New York Co-ops and Condos

The Push to Reform Co-op / Condo Tax Injustice: Where Things Stand Now [Nov. 2011]

Report That Cell-Antenna Income or Tax Dept. May Make Up a Figure FOR You
Tax Appeals for Condos Specifically

Tax Commission Lowers Your Property Tax, Finance Dept. Ups It Again. Wha??
Tax Relief: A Half-Dozen Ways to Say, "Whew!"

Tax Revolt II: The Co-ops and Condos Strike Back Against 50% Tax Increases [Jan. 2012]

• Tax Revolt 2012: Co-op / Condo Group Sets Rally to Support Tax-Fairness Bill

What the Hell's the Co-op / Condo Franchise Tax, And How Bad Is It?

Wild Ride: Explaining This Year's Condo & Co-op Property-Tax Increase [March 23, 2011]
 
Technology

All About the New "QR Codes": Efficient Information for Condo & Co-op Boards

An Architect and an Engineer Reveal: How Effective is Infrared Thermography?
Buying in Bulk: Cable, Satellite and Fiber-Optic TV 
Co-op & Condo Communication: Getting Linked with Building Web Apps 
FCC Bans Cable-TV Exclusivity 
Five Important Mobile Apps for Property Management: A Print 'Em Out Checklist 
Flash-Flood Fix for the 21st Century: Mechanized Sandbags 
Getting a Co-op Exclusive Web-Site Name: How to Fly the "Coop" 
Green New Products

Hey, Infrared Thermography Can Detect Building Leaks! So, Uh, What Is it?

How Three Co-ops Built Websites — And How Yours Can, Too
iMeetings: Why Co-op / Condo Boards Should Embrace Netbooks & iPads

New Online Co-op / Condo Management Site Targets Self-Managers
Point-and-Click: Homeowners' Monthly Payments Go High-Tech

Saving Time, Money and Trees: New, Free Online Database of Offering Plans

Sun Spot: Park Slope Co-op Goes 'Solar Thermal' to Heat Its Water. Should You?
Telecom to My House: Renting Roof Space
The Weekly New Product and Previous New Products

What to Expect When a Thermographic Professional Arrives to Check for Leaks
 
Water
Fighting Back Against High Water Bills

New City Crackdown on Co-ops/Condos: Are YOUR Backflow Preventers in Place?
Water Bills Growing as Co-op / Condo Budget-Breaker. Here's What to Do.
Water Tank Explosion During Routine Cleaning: Yeah, It Can Happen
Water Tank Woes: New York City Co-ops & Condos Face Flurry of Violations
Well, Well, Well: How to Install Them and Save on Water Bills
 
 
COMMUNITY

Co-op Condo Website Directory

Board Members' Videos

Meet the Artists

• Co-op / Condo Art: Meet Marcellus Hall 

• Co-op / Condo Art: Meet Danny Hellman

Slideshows 

• 301 E. 78th St., Manhattan: Mail-Room Innovation

• 375 Lincoln Place, Brooklyn: Technotrash