Congratulations! You have just welcomed a new member to your co-op or condo board. Hopefully their skills, ideas, and experiences can add a fresh perspective to meetings and contribute to the board in exciting new ways. As many co-op and condo residents know, serving on the board can be a big time commitment and feel like a thankless part-time job. That’s why it’s important to make new board members feel welcome and informed. Read more here =>>
Read MoreResidents of co-op and condo buildings know that maintenance fees only move one way - up. From laundry rooms to elevators to electrical systems, there is always something that seems to be in need of repair. That’s why their boards are constantly looking for ways to cut costs, or, at the very least, prevent existing expenses from increasing.
Read MoreBeing the president of the co-op or condo board can not only feel like a thankless position, but in many ways like a one man show. The president has the final signature, and while the entire board may technically be responsible for certain aspects of the running of the board, the final responsibility (or ‘fault’ depending on your outlook) often rests on his or her shoulders.
Read MoreIs your Association simply a business enterprise . . . or is it a community? Of course, it’s both. So along with news of important financial decisions, your Co-op, Condo, or HOA Board would do well to share ideas that will enhance the community’s sense of well-being.
Read MoreEven though energy efficiency has been discussed for decades, it is only in the last few years that it is starting to gain traction. In New York City, the various energy laws and programs were launched during the Bloomberg administration. The first such law was Local Law 84, or benchmarking. The objective when this began in 2009 was to measure and gather data and then use that data to reduce and conserve.
Read MoreWe launched a video interview series that brings an interesting and informative twist to the managers and operators of multifamily buildings. Many of the experts in our interview series are a little unusual and not as often talked about. This includes, but is not limited to new or “fairly new” laws, new services, and services and vendors that we find interesting.
Read MoreOne of the disincentives that keeps qualified people from joining their building’s board is the demand on board member’s time. Work in between meeting can generally be done at your discretion, but the meetings themselves are at a set time and day, and can often be long, contentious, drawn out and just plain borrrr-iiiing.
Read MoreNow that heating season is nearly over (trust me! It really is!), you are aware of all the problems that arose this year. You might even have had some occasional outage, always on the coldest day of course. Well, believe it or not, before you start planning for summer- start planning for next winter! That’s right, winter preparations begin now. There are a few reasons for this:
Read MoreYou may be new to your board and not know where to begin, or a returning board member who feels that you are not contributing enough because you don’t know what to do. Well, then this is your lucky day, because we are going to tell you about not one, not two, but 5ive(!) excellent resources for all condo and coop board members!
Read MoreAs co-op and condo board consultants, we speak with board members on a regular basis. And if we had a nickel for every time we hear – “But you don’t understand, our building is different!”, we would have had a lot of nickels. So we felt that it would be appropriate to share all those “special” situations so that for all the board members out there, you can see that you are not alone. Here are the top 5 “special situations that we see over and over again:
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