Every Sunday I read those Q & A in the Real Estate Section of The New York Times in which a clear-eyed, coldly rational lawyer tells co-op and condo owners how to vindicate their legal rights in court. Don’t get me wrong, they’re right. But that doesn’t mean that’s how complaints get resolved in real life. Do you think most owners are going to spend the time and money necessary to slog through the judicial system without any guarantee that their dispute will be resolved? No, that’s why a variety of self help techniques have developed to solve their problems. Read more »

You know the rest. You’ve already been warned that you must have Thick Skin of you want to be on the board. In case you need a reminder, you just got one thanks to – who else – a testy lawyer in a Forest Hills co-op. Read more »

Feathered, who lives in a co-op in Washington Heights, is having a problem with the lady below, who tosses seed out her second floor window attracting all the pigeons in the neighborhood and beyond. It's dirty and disgusting and unsanitary. What can I do, she wants to know. Read more »

Today the podium goes to Marcie Waterman Murray, a partner at Deutsch Tane Waterman & Wurtzel, specializing in representation of co-ops and condos as well as commerical and residential real estate transactions. She tackles the tough problem of what warring neighbors can do to restore peace to their home front. Read more »

It’s the latest battleground in the ever-expanding war against objectionable conduct by shareholders. In a decision just handed down, a couple in a Jackson Heights co-op was made to pay the ultimate sacrifice (residentially speaking) for their refusal to repair violations in their apartment or to allow the building access to do so or even to install a new intercom system for everyone. What does it all mean? Read more »