NEW YORK CITY

There's an "electronic doorman" at the building we are interested in. What's this, and should I be concerned?

Electric, cyber, off-site, or virtual doorman is a person in a location other than your building. The idea is to connect the building's intercom to a call center located somewhere else in the country. The doorman who's located off-site will answer and verify information related to you as an owner and provide the services you need. If a building is worried about the expense of a doorman and what comes with it in terms of payroll and union dues, this could offer a great solution.

Abdullah Fersen is CEO of Newgent Management. 

Our lawyer has told us that the building's mortgage only has two more years before it needs to be refinanced. Should we care about that?

It's imperative that all associations plan for the future accordingly and the mortgage payment is a part of the overall association plan. As an association comes within two years of the due date, it's important to weigh the prepayment penalties, if any, versus the available interest rates and financing options. It might make sense for a building to pay a prepayment penalty to lock in an interest rate to ensure long-term savings for the association.

The board has a responsibility to try to lower costs while improving the quality of life for its association. You never know what's going to happen in the market and paying a penalty might still lower your obligation in the long run. At the end of the current mortgage period, it's important to lock in with little impact to the annual budget.

Andy Ashwal is executive director at KW Property Management & Consulting.

The building we love has a flip tax. We don't have to pay it now, but if we sell we will. It seems onerous. Can you explain?

To many, it would seem wrong and maybe even unfair to tax the proceeds of a departing shareholder, but consider the following: in many instances, the value of your investment increases over the time of your occupancy.

While most of an apartment's increased value is because of market conditions and improvements within the unit, a good portion is tied into the overall condition of the building. Co-op boards that are diligent in maintaining the assets have added value, too. They have learned to draw capital funds by refinancing their underlying mortgage in a timely manner. The flip tax is another natural revenue stream that allows the cooperative to add to the capital improvement fund without burdening the remaining shareholders.

Peter Lehr is director of management at Kaled Management.

With surprisingly little fanfare and virtually no notice, a New York City regulation goes into effect early September that requires childproofing the electrical outlets in common areas. Failure to do so will result in violations and fines.

Signed on May 6 and going into effect 120 days later, Local Law 39/2015 requires that co-op and condo boards and rental-building owners install "protective caps, covers, or other safety devices over electrical outlets" in all public areas except those "used exclusively for mechanical equipment or storage purposes." You needn't do anything at all if your cooperative or condominium already has tamper-resistant outlets, which have been required in new and renovated buildings for years under statutes based on the 2008 National Electrical Code.

The apartment I want to buy is on the ground floor facing a lovely back garden. I noticed a humming noise, though. Should I be concerned?

I think this is an issue that needs to be looked into and raises a number of questions that need to be answered. What is the noise and has it ever been brought to the attention of anyone from management or the building staff so they can come and hear it? If they have, do they have any idea of what has been causing it and how to fix it? If they do not, then when was the last time the boiler was serviced? Has the boiler service been called to come out and hear the noise? Do they know what is causing it? Is there something wrong with the boiler that can be fixed or adjusted to either make the noise go away or lessen it? Or is this the normal operation sound that the boiler makes when it is on? If this is normal, is there another way to reduce the sound traveling, such as insulating the boiler room or the apartment in question? Is this sound even coming from the boiler? Might there be another source? Has either an engineer or acoustical engineer been consulted on this? If there is a solution, does the building have the funds to address this problem?

Beth Markowitz is president of Merlot Management.

For various reasons, it's a huge no-no to run a business out of your co-op apartment. But it looks like that's not stopping one co-op resident from running a party-planning business, much to the chagrin of her very annoyed neighbor. He tells Ronda Kaysen in this week's Ask Real Estate column in The New York Times that she "has messengers and deliveries coming and going whenever she has a party to plan." The neighbor has notified the managing agent, "who has passed the information on to the board." But what happens in the event the board "chooses not to enforce the rules." Kaysen explains that "co-ops have a good reason for banning home businesses: They are disruptive, and in many cases violate zoning rules." She adds that the co-op board "should take the matter seriously," never mind the offending neighbor, who "should find a more appropriate place to plan parties." At the end of the day, this becomes a quality of life issue so it does seem unlikely that the board wouldn't move on the complaint. However, adds Kaysen, if the "board seems lax in its response, keep a log of the times when the business interferes with your quality of life. Do the constant deliveries, for example, disturb the peace? Reach out to other shareholders and see if they would be willing to sign a letter urging the board to remedy the situation."

There's still a sponsor around. Is this a problem?

Sponsor ownership in a co-op can be a double-edged sword. Although it can be potentially problematic, there are some benefits to the co-op corporation. The most serious potential problems are financial. A financially weak sponsor with negative cash flow (the rents generated are less than the maintenance being paid) presents a risk to the co-op.

Another potential problem is the impact on sales, and the obtaining of mortgages – both the underlying mortgage for the co-op as well as individual mortgages on both sales for prospective purchasers and refinancing for existing shareholders. The issues are primarily tied to the number of remaining apartments owned by the sponsor. Another potential problem is board control and interference. There is also a potential issue with controlling and managing building staff and ensuring that the staff is not engaged in "private" work on sponsor apartments. The last potential problem relates to quality of life issues in a building that may be negatively affected by problematic sponsor tenants, both statutory and free market.

The potential benefits relate to the sponsor's historic knowledge of the building. The sponsor may be in possession of records, files, and building plans that would be important to the co-op. The sponsor may also have relationships with professional vendors, contractors, and lending institutions that could be leveraged for the co-op's benefit.

Neil B. Davidowitz is president of Orsid Realty.

We want to buy an HDC apartment, but the building's considering leaving the program. How will that affect us?

If a building decides to leave a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) program, there are a number of issues to consider. If income restrictions are lifted, owners can tap additional equity in an apartment. Also, once the property is no longer income-restricted, its fair market value will increase. This unlocked equity will allow owners to refinance and take equity out of the property or sell the unit and cash in on the increased value.

On the negative side, the new free market status may also change the building's makeup, attracting more investors and renters. Leaving the HDC program may result in those who have more limited incomes and who have potentially worked to improve a neighborhood, no longer being able to afford to purchase in that building.

HDC subsidies make sense because they allow middle-income individuals and families to stay in the city. HDC is a city agency that offers subsidized building loans that make apartments affordable and require escrowing of monthly reserve replacement, which keeps buildings financially sound.

It also helps that HDC has an engineering and financial staff to make sure proposed capital projects make sense and that the building has the available funds to complete a project. In addition, before HDC releases any funds to the contractors, it checks to see that every "I" is dotted and "T" is crossed in the contracts. With HDC, you have a partner who shares the desire for your property to be successful that extends beyond paying back the loan or inter-building politics.

Peter von Simson is CEO of New Bedford Management.

With 12 New Yorkers dead (as of August 12) from an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the South Bronx, boards with cooling towers may want to review the facts and take a few cautionary steps. Here are some questions and answers:

What's the Difference Between a Cooling Tower and a Water Tank? The two serve very different functions, says Doug Weinstein, executive director of operations and compliance at Akam Associates, a management firm. A water tank provides drinkable (and fire department "reserve") water and, therefore, requires an annual inspection. (Until last year, Weinstein says that the inspection results merely had to be kept on file at the building. But after a New York Times investigation found that a number of properties were not inspecting their water tanks, the city health department required that the reports be filed with the city.) A cooling tower is used for the HVAC system and does not contain potable water; therefore, the city did not require buildings to have them inspected. Cooling towers are only used in the summer, and most properties shut their systems off during the winter.

What does it say about a co-op if it doesn't have any on-site staff?

Not having a staff at a building is not a reflection of an inferior property, and in some ways can be a bonus because of the great savings in operating expenses on a daily basis. Having an on-site staff does not indicate anything more than greater expenses.

Your management company will have someone address everyday basics and be able to offer services similar to a full-service building. Many of the properties we manage in Soho, Tribeca, and throughout the city have no issue not having a staff on-site and are achieving comparable sales prices to buildings with full on-site staff.

Paul T. Brensilber is president of Jordan Cooper.