And I’m not gonna take it anymore. Seems that’s what lots of apartment owners are saying – and doing –not just taking self help steps at home (see, Self Help Justice), but going to court on their own to right perceived wrongs committed by the board or a pesky neighbor. That’s why we’ll be taking a look from time to time at complaints that drive owners to the brink. Often it’s the little stuff that rankles, the proverbial last straw after a series of protracted disagreements. Read more »

The number was so low it sent me into a tailspin. How could a one-bedroom co-op on the Gold Coast of Greenwich Village, that would have sold for over $850,000 at market peak have plummeted to a mere $521,000? Yes, prices were down, but not that much. Yet there was the number staring up from the refinance application in front of me and my fellow board members. I needed a valium or an explanation. Read more »

Maybe that’s what you should start asking more often. Most owners assume their building has a stash of cash in reserves sitting in the bank safely earning interest while they sleep (even though at current rates they’d have to snooze as long as Rip Van Winkle to see any returns.). You’ll be surprised to know that may not be so. Read more »

Hard to believe, but that’s apparently what happened to a couple who got divorced, as we found out from a decision handed down by the Appellate Division just last week. They got a judgment ending their marriage – splitting up themselves and their assets – but without bothering to say anything about the Upper West Side condo they owned. So what happened to it? Read more »

How many ways can it make you pay? More than you think. In case you don’t even know who your building’s managing company is look at the name on that brass plaque affixed to the façade announcing they’re in command. They’re entitled to get paid. Managing a building and the cast of eccentric characters who live there is a tough job, and the better the company, the more it's worth. Only now, in order to get even more,they're slicing and dicing their services like exotic derivatives. How does it work? Read more »