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Only 6 Board Members - Pooh Dec 08, 2024

Hi
Just found out we only have 6 board members instead of 7. One person left. Shareholders were not notified. I feel they should have just in case someone wanted to join besides what happens when you vote on something and it’s an even number?

Also hope the management agent is not voting as the 7th person. They’re a vendor.

Your thoughts please

> Join the conversation Comments (1)

Check out your bylaws. There's usually a lower limit to the number board members needed for a meeting to be official. I believe in my co-op the lower limit is 5.

There's no requirement for a board member to be replaced as long as the upper and lower limits are met. Anyone wanting to join the board can stand for election at the next annual shareholder meeting. This is board discretionary.

The MA acting as a voting member of your board is a different matter altogether. I would make your co-op's attorney aware asap so they know. Unless special provisions for this situation have been added to the bylaws, at the very least it's a conflict of interest. I might also render invalid any meeting the MA participated in as a board member. Votes taken at invalid board meetings cannot be enforced. This can leave your board and co-op corporation in a world of hurt. Talk to your attorney as soon as possible

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management companies - DP Dec 07, 2024

Anyone here use Impact Real Estate Management?
TYVM

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Super and handyman renovate coop apts and block Bldg inspectors - DM Dec 05, 2024

All sort of work that normally requires a permit. The coop board and Mngmt are ineffective in managing and preventing this. The doorman blocks building inspectors from inspecting. What can be done?

> Join the conversation Comments (1)

Contact the co-op's attorney IMMEDIATELY and let them know what is going on. You have no idea the amount of physical and financial danger blocking a government inspector can cause. This kind of activity puts the physical structure and the shareholders/renters in imminent danger.

If the board and/or handyman are restricting access my gut tells me they are trying to hide something really serious. Be mindful it could be *your* unit directly above a faulty gas main, and your family seriously injured or killed.

The life you save may be your own.

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Carpet cleaning - Bob B JR Nov 22, 2024

Hi question about carpet cleaning but more how to handle a hostile board chairman. The co-op carpet hasn’t been cleaned in a year and a half after the board promising 2 years ago that it would be cleaned yearly. Several of my fellow shareholders have contacted the board to ask when they were planning on cleaning the carpet, we have our own large industrial steam cleaner. They never heard back so I sent my own email. The board chairman got back to me telling me that they don’t want want to clean it because it’s 15 years old and disintegrating and cleaning it will make it worse. It’s not and in great shape. He also said they might replace it at some point next year. This board is crazy about spending money on things they don’t need to. I’ve owned 2 multi family homes and had industrial carpeting like this in the common areas for over 40 so I know this isn’t true I even Googled it so I know he’s wrong. In his last email to me he told me if I didn’t like the decision that there are plenty of other apartment buildings out there I should think about moving to. We’ve all emailed him at the board email address but he responds on his personal email so that none of the other board members can see what he’s saying.
Any suggestions as to what to do?

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Door mats in coop - Diane Nov 12, 2024

I reside in a large 3 bedroom coop apt on the lower level. My apt; is in a corner down a long hallway away from any other apts. Entrance to hallway also incudes an outside door leading to the driveway is aways dirty; As owning homes & always had doormats I placed one in front of my doorway to prevent bring dirt onto my wooden floors. I did this because the dirt out along the carpet has actually led to front prints on my inside apt floors. The carpet out in the hallway is always dusty & dirty and doesn't appear to be vacuumed as what is done with upper hallways;
Being refused a doormat is on heard off for me; I don't want to be bringing dirt into my apt;

> Join the conversation Comments (1)

Just put one out. Make sure it is not too thick. Many man many fancy coops (of the classy pre-war type) have apartments with doormats in the halls. Just do it.

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Sponsor Rights - mr.gardenz Oct 20, 2024

If a shareholder is a Holder of Unsold Shares with Sponsor Rights but is not the Sponsor:
1. Can the Shareholder sell the apartment to a Purchaser who intends to live in the apartment without Board approval?
2. Can the Shareholder with Sponsor Rights transfer the Sponsor Rights to a Prospective Purchaser who does not intend to
live in the apartment but intends to lease the apartment as an investment unit?

Please advise.

> Join the conversation Comments (1)

Contact an attorney, pronto. You are asking very complex legal questions which may have very precise and limited responses. Do you want to jeopardize any of your current and future prerogatives to as a few dollars?

Always remember that every bit of legal advice you receive in these forums is worth precisely what you paid for it.

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Sponsor RightsOct 20, 2024
If a shareholder is a Holder of Unsold Shares with Sponsor Rights but is not the Sponsor:
1. Can the Shareholder sell the apartment to a Purchaser who intends to live in the apartment without Board approval?

Yes, the Holder of Unsold Shares w/ Sponsor Rights may sell to a purchaser who intends to live in the unit without Board Approval (its one of the perks) - but that transaction is beholden to the Martin Act as a securities transaction.


2. Can the Shareholder with Sponsor Rights transfer the Sponsor Rights to a Prospective Purchaser who does not intend to
live in the apartment but intends to lease the apartment as an investment unit?

No, it usually ends with them, but it depends on the terms of the original sale/transfer from the original sponsor and what entitlements the original sponsor retained after the original transaction. I also depends on if the original sponsor puts his sponsorship in trust and the type of trust.

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Property Manager failing to provide 2022-2023 Financial Statements - Julie Oct 16, 2024

Hello!

I own an apartment in one of the coop buildings in Brooklyn and I am trying to sell my apartment for a few months already. As a result of the cooperative property management company failing to provide the bank with the required documentation, my buyers are not being approved for mortgages by the second bank. The management company has not provided the financials or tax returns for the year 2022-2023.

Despite asking for these for months already, they continue to state that their CPA is still working on finalizing them.

How normal is this? We are not only forced to continue paying maintenance and other fees for a unit we are no longer occupying, but also risk losing the sale as a result.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could provide me with some advice.

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Probably the easiest way to deal with this is to let your seller's attorney know about the problems you are encountering and let them dea with it. They probably run into these issues quite often and are trained with how to handle them. Your attorney also has the resources to move things along.

Good luck.

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empty coop apartment owned by heirs - EW Oct 11, 2024

HDFC coop here - one of the apartments has been vacant since the shareholder died more than five years ago. Nobody lives there, so nobody is keeping an eye on things to make sure there are no problems (leaks from the roof, etc.) that if not addressed immediately could become even bigger problems for the apartment itself, but also for the apartments adjacent and below to it. Needless to say, the apartment is also in dire need of a renovation. The heirs have supposedly been paying the maintenance all these years and are refusing to put it up for sale, because they are convinced that by holding onto to it longer, they'll make a ton of money. After many years and an ongoing legal dispute, the board has been refusing to give the rest of the shareholders any details about this contention (what I described I found out from someone with knowledge of it). I would like to know if it's legal for a person (or multiple people, in this case) to own an apt in an HDFC coop and not live in it. Shouldn't the law allow the coop to force the heirs to sell the apartment after all these years? And if they refuse to do so, shouldn't the coop be allowed to repossess it? Any advice would be appreciated.

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The HDFC rules and regulations can be very convoluted and difficult to decipher. An incorrect citation can blow your case out of the water and create additional expenses. You need to make the co-op's attorney aware of this situation immediately and let them handle it from here.

My real question is, why hasn't your co-op's attorney been dealing with this matter from the get-go and not five years after the fact? I hope the statute of limitations hasn't already expired and you've lost any remedies.

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Thanks for the feedback. The current coop lawyer and the previous one have already been dealing with this situation, but they are not informing the rest of the shareholders about the status of this dispute with the heirs.

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Responsibility for Common Areas - Elisa Sep 27, 2024

I’m on the board of a small condominium. The tenant in one apartment installed a new lock two years ago resulting in the exposure of an unattractive, unpainted section of the apartment door. The tenant had initially agreed to take care of re-painting the door but hasn’t done so. Our by-laws stipulate that doors are part of the common area and owners are responsible for repairing any damage to their portion of the common area.

I’d now like to contact the owner (whom I realize I should have initially contacted) and mandate that they pay for re-painting the door. One board member disagrees that the owner should have to take any action. Among other reasons, this member believes that requiring the owner to re-paint the door would result in some level of tension, or quarreling, among neighbors. Having owned a couple of properties before this one I am used to disagreements among owners and do not see this as a reason to (further) delay a needed repair.

My fellow board member is also concerned that because the board had agreed to institute painting throughout the building, finances permitting, in about two years time, we should just wait. But I’d rather that the owner address the issue now. We are a small building and in the past have delayed painting and upgrades to the building given other, more urgently needed repairs (furnace, roof, etc.).

In reviewing owners' emails I came across this note from 2017: “Good thing we're re-doing the interiors soon.” We have never re-done the interior.

I’d be interested in any comments or suggestions you may have. Thanks.

> Join the conversation Comments (1)

Why don’t you have the management company handle this? Meaning the communication to the shareholder.

Also doesn’t the Super have the paint?

Have the Super give the shareholder the paint because I’m sure all the doors need to match or are you saying they need to pay for the quart of paint?

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MANAGEMENT COMPANY RESPONSIBILITIES - DOUGM Sep 25, 2024

MY QUESTION REVOLVES AROUND LITIGATION WHERE COOP CORP IS BEING SUED ,,,, DOES THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY OR BOARD HAVE A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY TO INFORM THE SHAREHOLDERS OF THE CORPORATION OF THE CLAIM AGAINST THE COOP ONCE FILED IN COURT, AND GIVE THEM THE POSSIBLE RAMIFICATIONS TO THE SHAREHOLDERS? AND IF THEY DO HAVE RESPONSIBILITY, DOES THIS ALSO GO TO ANY PROSPECTIVE BUYERS BEING INFORMED OF THE ISSUES (AND IF INFORMED, GIVING AT LEAST AN OPINION BY THE COOPS LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE THAT THE COOP IS PROTECTED THRU INSURANCE, OR POSSIBLE FINANCIAL ISSUES THAT COULD OCCUR?) I BELIEVE THEY DO HAVE RESPONSIBILITY AND THE NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL, WHO HAS OVERSIGHT, MIGHT ALSO STATE IT SHOULD BE DISCLOSED.......... BUT I AM LOOKING FOR GUIDANCE HERE.... THANK YOU

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My advice would be to ask the attorney who is handling the litigation on the co-op's behalf before taking any action, especially before making any information public. Even if something sounds totally innocent, publishing *anything* before getting your attorney's approval could do much more harm than good.

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