Hello all,
I am just doing some due diligence here.
Our 113 unit Co-op, built in the 1950’s, just received a quote from the Spain Agency (Mahopac, NY) on a replacement building/liability coverage policy. Our current carriers are Fireman's Fund and Castlepoint. The new proposed carriers are Worchester/Harleysville.
I am curious whether anyone has had any experience with either the Spain Agency or the new proposed carriers of Worchester/Harleysville?
Thanks!
My ex is buying out my share in our co-op apartment. It's a straightforward arrangement. What kind of legal costs am I looking at for the paperwork and the closing?
A current board member has a son looking to purchase a unit. Of course the board menber would be removed from the sales application process due to conflict. But what of her childhood friend who also sits on the board? Does she get asked not to participate in the sales application process as well? Finally, the son has a cat (old-not going to last too long-so they say) but we have a no pet policy. What to do?
Our building had a firm named Just Energy execute a fraudelent document, signed by a non existent building represetative, to become our energy supply company (ESCO).
Be aware.
Is it required that a board member or any shareholder for that matter notify the Board when he has gone into contract for sale of his/her apt.?
How come it is so difficult to get a property manager to answer/return a telephone call (unless you are on the board). No this is not an isolated case as I have worked with many over the years. Are you guys/gals so busy.
HH
I am a board member in a 300 unit coop in the Gramercy Park area and we are looking to hire a new management company. Our current management company is based in Long Island and although we like our current agent, we have had issues with the previous agent, their back-office and too many minor accounting irregularities.
We have interviewed a large number of companies and have narrowed it down to three; Cooper Square, Tudor Realty, and Orsid Realty. Can I please get insight from other board members/shareholders who have or have had experience with any of these companies?
Greatly appreciated.
a neighbir was trying toi sell and found a god buyer, a woman that had previously liced in the buikldinf iiver 2o years and now has family members here. a good stable resident.
the buyer was informed shae jhasto put 15 % down and 6 months maint and 6 months mortgage upfront.
this is the firsr we have ever haeard of the 6 months maint and mortgager payment s uop front.
we have never hrecievied a letter , it was never anounced at the last annaul meeting 0. no one is going to buy
in out building with thse requrements. it is not a tony buildimg, a basic 6 story brick, with an elevator, no amaenties no pool.
this sme board had turned the buiding into a rntal buiding, i counted 30 of 59 were occupied by shareholders. it used to be 80 percent , and very stringent.is there anything i can do as a shareholder to force the board to follow the nys courts ruling concerning ch 14 of the proprietary lease, the "and" "or" wording. my proprietary lease states shareholder "and" and that is why i consider the never occupied by shareholder as nit owner occupied. Many of these resident never went before the board for the interview, their parents did,however the parents never moved in.
I have a bone to pick with the appraisal process for Co-op units in NYC. That bone is that this process does not generally take into account the financial health of the co-op corporation.
Let's face it, Co-ops are a hybrid: half real estate(ish) and half corporate investment. From my limited perspective, appraisers take a look at the real estate side of the transaction but rarely have I seen them take into account the comprehensive financial health of the co-op organization.
Not all co-op corporations are created equal. While mortgage information is often listed on appraisals (and often incorrectly I might add), I have never seen the corporation's cash and reserves listed.
There is a positive value attributable to each share for each dollar in working capital (cash), capital and operating reserves, escrows & self-escrows, pre-paid expenses and valid receivables. I have never seen these amounts taken into account on an appraisal however they can significantly impact the value per share.
For example, a unit within a 100 unit co-op with $10k in cash & reserves is not as valuable as a similar unit in a co-op with $1 million in cash and reserves. Assuming that each unit has equal shares for the sake of simplicity and each building has an equal mortgage, then each unit would have a potential value adjustment of $100 or $10,000 based on the above example, respectively.
In the era when making informed real estate decisions is very important, I believe that increased disclosure can only help the sellers/buyers make informed decisions.
Is there any support out there to ask the NYC Council make it mandatory for appraisers to make this information available on appraisals performed within the City of New York for Co-op valuations?
Maintenance apportionment
Reference:
http://disc.yourwebapps.com/discussion.cgi?disc=94379;article=11863;title=Habitat%27s%20Board%20Talk;pagemark=40
Each year our co-op office sends 1098's documenting the amount of interest one has paid prorata (e.g.: based on shares) as well as taxes one has paid prorata as well. The amounts, interest and real estate taxes, are shown in block #5. If there are two owners in a unit each receives a separate 1098. Thus if the unit paid $1,800 in taxes and there are two owners, each receives a 1098 in the amount of $900 for taxes while the interest expense is similarly split.
These are sent before the end of January each year in compliance with IRS rules.
Further, our co-op bills (itemizes) the assessment separately in the monthly bill. For tax purposes, the yearly assessment (yes, the assessment is every year as our co-op is 43+ years old and capital improvements are de rigueur) is billed over a lesser number of months. This is to avoid any question or challenge by the IRS that the assessment was just part of the maintenance. It is also important when selling the unit in computing the gains, less capital improvements..
Introduce yourself to other members of Board Talk! Log in below or register here.
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.
Our Board recently changed insurance brokers and they got us a better general liability insurance policy with an A+ rated company, (our management company's insurance company was A-), including all the coverage we had and more, and a 37% reduction in premium. Our previous premium was based on group experience; our new premium is individually rated. I recommend you contact HUB International Northeast. They coordinated all of our policies so that now we have one common expiration date, and our premium no longer needs to be financed by a bank (of course that cost more too).
Does Board Talk also allow me to give the individual broker's name & phone number?
Thank you for rating!
You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!
Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.