Correcting what many consider an egregious mistake, congress changed course and made cooperative apartment buildings eligible for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans in the recently approved second go-round called the Economic Aid Act of 2020. Unfortunately, condominiums and HOAs are still not covered, but including co-ops is at least a small step in the right direction.

There are caveats attached to the loan, which is a very cheap way for co-ops to access capital. Boards need to be sure to discuss with some or all of their trusted advisors- tax attorney, CPA, RE attorney, current underlying mortgage lender, and the property manager.

For years, New York has been treated by congress as the red-headed step-child. There seems to be a general both-sides-of-the-aisle animosity towards New York, and New York City in particular, despite having one of the most powerful senators and longtime-serving insiders (majority leader Charles Schumer) representing NYS.

To be fair, NYS does not treat NYC much better; this goes back to the inequitable treatment of NYC coops regarding real estate tax evaluation vs. other homeowners, as noted RE attorney Stuart Saft has been sounding the alarm on for years.

Habitat Magazine has published a great article summarizing the new PPP edicts, available here: RE Link

For more detailed information on the PPP for your coop, Habitat Magazine recently published a helpful article available here: PPP Link

If your association or corporation needs to reduce the cost of their building’s capital improvement projects, The Folson Group provides construction contract administrative services for apartment buildings. Email us at info@thefolsongroup.com or call us at (917) 648-8154 to find out more.