March 12, 2010 — Your first thought, upon looking at this Earth-friendly, electric-powered love-child of a golf cart and a pickup truck, may be, "Sure, my co-op or condo could use something like for hauling tree branches or air conditioners or what have you from building to building in my Brooklyn or Queens cooperative or condominium complex." (We're assuming you think in complete, detailed sentences that include Internet search terms.) "But," you may go on, "what about Manhattan co-ops and condos that, for the most part, are individual city buildings and not part of self-contained complexes?"

The answer surprised even us: Even on city streets, your building staff may still be able to use this week's spotlighted New Product for trips to the hardware store or plumbing-supply shop. How? Because it falls into the category of LSV — Low-Speed Vehicle — which, with exceptions, New York State allows. Read More »

March 10, 2010 — Co-op board members and condo association directors tend to encounter the same few shareholder/unit-owner issues over and over: The same misunderstandings and complaints crop up in each new generation of buyers. "I see them in all kinds of developments and among all kinds of owners," says attorney Janet Oulousian Aronson, a specialist in community-association law and a member of the New England chapter of the Community Associations Institute. And though it can sometimes feel hopeless, sometimes all it takes is explaining to residents, in a nice way, the basic facts of co-op and condo life.

But what do you say? How should you phrase it? Keeping emotion out of your conversations with co-op / condo owners, while not sounding uncaring and like you're just spouting talking points, isn't always easy, especially with your more contentious residents. That's why Aronson's five tips for what to say and how to say it can come in handy. A soft answer turneth away wrath — and Ruth and Ralph and most any other resident with one of these typical areas of complaint. Read More »

NYC: March 8, 2010 — Recent news of note for your co-op or condo board. The convicted child-rapist super is finally gone, a condo board prez embezzles, a Kremlin-like co-op board endorses ITSELF on the proxy notice (with little stars next to their names, comrade!), and the co-op and condo market is either bad or good, depending on who's talking. And just who's talking? Why, some of the most relevant newspapers, magazines, websites and blogs you should be reading. Oh, wait! That's what Habitat's weekly Monday News Roundup is for: We go through everything so you don't have to! Plus: permanent archival links, so if a link ever goes dead, you can still find it at WebCitation.org. Read More »

March 8, 2010 — A word from your sponsor can be a good thing. But here's a word to the wise: Some sponsors that double as co-op or condo property managers can drive a building into the ground when — ironically — the board is asleep at the wheel. It's easy to feel as if there's nothing you can do when the sponsor insists on running the co-op or condo like it's his or her rental property. But you really can escape their clutches ... just like the board of the Ferry Point Park Condominium. (Click on image to enlarge.) Read More »