NEW YORK CITY

Committees can be an excellent resource for condo and co-op boards — using committees increases the scope of the work that a board can do by increasing the number of people available to investigate the issues. Committees also are a training ground for future directors, and are a good way to increase a familial feeling among residents. But committees can sometimes become unwieldy. In fact, for a committee system to work, the board must ask a number of questions.

When a co-op or condo board is spending money to constantly repair the elevators, it's time to start thinking about an upgrade. But giving up on stopgap repairs on your co-op or condo's elevators and tackling an upgrade can be a mammoth undertaking. Without a plan in place and a consultant to help oversee the process, boards can quickly become vulnerable to expensive renovation pitfalls. Fortunately, there are proven practices that can help boards avoid that.

I manage an eight-building complex built in the late 1800s. One building was a carriage house; one was a Civil War army hospital. In 2013, an exterminator discovered extensive termite damage to support beams in every basement. We immediately hired an engineer to assess the damage and gathered estimates for repairs. As emergency installation of support jacks began; residents protested the noise, dust, inconvenience and cost.

One of the most difficult tasks a board can undertake is rewriting the house rules. Putting aside updating the archaic terms and words and correcting punctuation and spelling, there is always a difference of opinion on how to run the building. From dog rules to guest policy, the divergence of ideas can be staggering.

At last year's annual meeting, the newly elected board was faced with a group of dissatisfied shareholders. They expressed complaints concerning the board's lack of communication about the slow turnover in apartment sales. The board members then undertook several initiatives to address shareholders' needs.

When the board at 545 West 111th Street authorized an engineering study for a switch in fuel from No. 6 oil to natural gas, the members did not anticipate being presented with an $800,000 proposal to upgrade their heating plant.

This past year, one of our buildings faced a very difficult staffing issue, one that involved a long-term and well-liked building employee. The employee was involved in an incident in the building that the board felt merited dismissal. But he was popular, and a number of the shareholders were very vocal in their protests. The board and our office worked through a host of options and then had extensive discussions with most of the shareholders in the building.

At last year's annual meeting, the newly elected board was faced with a group of dissatisfied shareholders. They expressed complaints concerning the board's lack of communication about the slow turnover in apartment sales. The board members then undertook several initiatives to address shareholders' needs.

A READER ASKS: Our co-op is six stories high. Our old board was convinced that this meant that we were exempt from Local Law 11/98 inspection. Now we've voted them out, but no one seems to know if it's true that we're exempt. I thought there was a change to the definition of a "six story building," but now I'm not sure. Can you clarify?

HABITAT ANSWERS: New York City government indeed has gotten tougher with its Local Law 11/98 inspections and, in some cases, it is even redefining what constitutes a six-story building.

Andrea Bunis, founder and president of the New York City property-management firm that bore her name, died Monday, Aug. 25, after a 14-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 57.

"You gave her a challenge, she met it, and then she surpassed you. That was a given," her executive assistant, Genevieve Hernandez, told Habitat. Describing her as "tough as nails, with a heart of gold," Hernandez said the company's staff "is very, very heartbroken." Bunis had planned for the company's transition, she added. "Everything she has set up will stay in place. We have a director of management who will handle the agents and make sure they continue to do what they have to do."