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The board of directors has changed the resale policy without consulting with the rest of the shareholders and didn't even notify them after changing it. It is now much harder to sell/buy an apartment, because our coop is already an HDFC building, but the board decided to put even more restrictions (for example, the buyer cannot buy the apartment for cash and cannot have more than a certain amount of assets). Is it within the board authority to change the resale policy without the approval of the majority of the shareholders?
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Hi all,
I have found myself in a peculiar situation, and I have no idea where to turn to in order to get some sound advice. I'm hoping you can help!
I recently had an offer accepted on an HDFC co-op. Initially, when I first reached out to the agent listing the property, I was told I made above the income cap so I would not qualify. Later, he got back to me and told me that the income cap had been raised, and I now qualified. This is all in writing.
Fast forward to now and I have already completed a home survey, and my lawyer has gotten me to the point where I am just about to sign the sales contract. Unfortunately, he received communication from the sellers lawyer that neither the seller, the lawyer, the co-op board, or the co-op board president had been told that the income cap had been "raised". The seller's lawyer has said said that if I try to proceed, it will mean that I am negotiating in bad faith. The agent that I have been dealing with has said multiple times that it is fine, and that he has received explicit permission from the board president to allow me to proceed with the purchase. He has suggested that the problem is with the coop board not being able to put anything in writing, and that the sellers lawyer is just being overly cautious. It's all very strange I know, but why would the agent take me so far down this path if he hadn't cleared everything with the co-op board already?
My question is: can an income cap be raised for a purchaser who earns more than what is stated in the co-op policy, or is this figure written in stone.
Thank you.
Hello, I'm concerned that my fellow board members do not have a clear understanding of what their responsibilities are as fiduciaries for the condo association. Could someone please provide me with an up-to-date article on the fiduciary responsibilities of board members? These are not explained in our condo by-laws, but as I understand it New York State/ City regulations stipulate that elected Condo and Co-op board members act as fiduciaries for the Condo/ Co-op association. A definition of "fiduciary responsibility" as part of the article would be helpful. (In doing a search I did find a couple of articles, but they were from about 10 years back. I think my colleagues need to see an up-to-date article) Thanks.
> Join the conversation Comments (1)I was elected to my Condo's board, and I'd like to follow proper procedures. A volunteer took notes at the meeting (I was elected at the end of the meeting), and his notes are much too detailed. I served on a board several years back; and recall that notes are not supposed to be extremely detailed. Also, when are the notes supposed to be okayed, and by whom? Any other tips on minutes --for annual meetings, as well as for Board meetings--and for record-keeping, in general? Thanks.
> Join the conversationOur condo's original offering plan (written decades ago), including by-laws, specified a certain number of board officers which was an even number. In practice, however, over the last several years, there have only been a small, odd number of board members who have been elected and served. A long-term owner told me that someone, several years back, decided to merge 2 of the roles mentioned in the by-laws into one--but that change is not reflected in any addendum or revision to the offering plan. My question: Wouldn't we formally need to change the by-laws in order for this practice to be kosher? I do know we'd have to pay attorney fees, but wouldn't this fairly slight change be less expensive than others? Thanks for any intel.
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This is the scenario:
7 Board members total.
4 Board members vote to direct general Coop funds to an elective project that directly and only benefits those 4 board members.
Motion Passes since the vote is 4 yes, 3 no.
Legal?
I'm on the board of a small condo, which has an even number of units. Unlike co-ops, our votes are not "weighted' by the number of shares for each apartment since, obviously, condo apartments do not have assigned shares. If just two candidates are running for a board seat, it's possible that there will be a tie (assuming that each unit only has one vote, regardless of the number of residents in the unit). In the event of a tie, how can this be resolved? PS, the original board documents are of no help since they are very poorly written.
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Does anyone have any thoughts regarding shareholders paying their maintenance?
The best option? Convenient and/or cost?
Portal? Manual check sent out or shareholders filling out a form that a co-op will then deduct the funds from your bank?
If we use a portal is that part of the management company fee or a separate cost?
Portal is the most convenient and up to date while still letting the shareholders have control.
The downside of that would be some seniors maybe not comfortable with that process.
Thank you and would appreciate feedback.
I am a volunteer at a Free Store in NYC. We are a mutual aid group consisting of all volunteers. We are not incorporated. In case you don't know, a Free Store is not exactly a store but shelves placed in front of a building where the community can come and leave something or take what they need.
We have a question regarding the liability of the engineer who is designing the shelves for the Free Store - and also the liability of the members of the Free Store. The shelves will have a type of overarching roof, which will be placed high enough out of reach. And, yet, in the event that somehow it is taken down, or structurally weakened later causes harm to someone, as a mutual aid effort– is there a case for liability on our part? Any lawyers out there who can advise? Thank you.
I live in a very small co-op, 11 units. Trying to figure out what the going salary for a super is. Most of the information I'm finding is for large co-ops where the super is in a more managerial role and is salaried starting at $40k. Maybe this was in the past but the impression I had was some small buildings would provide a free apartment/utilities, and pay a small monthly fee, and the super would have a day job, I don't know if that's legal.
Anyone know what the best practice is here?
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The Board has the legal authority to change the resale policy whenever they feel it's necessary for the good of the co-op. That's within their rights as a Board. Remember that the Board was elected to represent the interests of the shareholders and to make decisions on behalf of the shareholders.
If you are not happy with the Board's decisions and policies, you have every right to ask the Board about them. If you feel that you can do a better job than the current Board as far as making decisions that affect the co-op, then run for the Board and work to help the Board make better decisions.
Having said that, the Board should have notified all shareholders about the change in Resale Policy since it can affect every shareholder. That's a potential issue that you can run on - "I will do a better job than the current Board in communicating with shareholders about important matters like this."
Good luck and keep us posted.
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