First of all, have you asked any member of the Board if there will a remortgage? Don't listen to rumors. Go directly to the source and ask them yourself.

Generally, the Board does NOT have to present estimates to the shareholders and the shareholders don't get to vote on the amount being borrowed.

The Board was elected by the shareholders to make these types of decisions on behalf of all of the shareholders.

Kind of like voters electing our representatives in Washington to make decisions on behalf of the voters.

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Thank you Marty, I get it. Actually I have spoken to one board member who secretly confided in me and said they were going to take out a new mortgage once the current one was paid off.


Unfortunately there is zero disclosure in my co-op. Shareholders would find out about the new mortgage after the fact. I just wanted to know if shareholders had any say in such a major decision.

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So the co-op is just about done paying off a mortgage and its monthly financial obligations, and now the Board wants to repeat that process. Why??

It’s one thing to refinance an existing mortgage. It’s another thing to get a new mortgage after you’ve completely paid off the initial mortgage.

Ask your Board member why. I’m guessing that the new mortgage may provide the Board with a line of credit or some other access to money if the co-op needs it quickly.

Of course, the co-op would then have to repay that line of credit money with interest. That’s not good for the co-o’s bottom line.

The Board has the alternative of doing an assessment which at least would have no interest attached to it.

Ask that Board member why the Board wants to take that approach. Perhaps there is a situation that you’re not aware of at this moment.

Good luck.

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The co-op is old and in need of many repairs.

The annual report said we we in the RED. Our reserve and operating accounts are low.

That is why I was questioning shareholder rights when taking out a major loan/LOC and was hoping we would have a right to see how much and where and what the $$$ was going towards.

I as well as other shareholders, would prefer an assessment but apparently we do not have a choice unless we go the route of a petition and special meeting.

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What surprised me or make me question taking another mortgage is that the co-op that go up for sale, sell very quickly. They are not all cash sales so how are the banks giving mortgages after reading our annual report and financial statement.

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Every Queens co-op is old and needs repairs. lol

Banks that give mortgages are more concerned with the ability of the s/h to repay the loan than if the co-op survives.

Does your co-op have a flip tax? If so, ask the Board member if flip tax revenue is part of the budget. It shouldn’t be since apartment sales can vary from year to year and thus cannot be relied upon. They should be put in the co-op’s reserve fund and not included in the budget.

Has your co-op always been in the red or is this just a recent occurrence? Ask the Board member.

If it’s something that only recently happened then that’s understandable. However, if this has been an ongoing problem then perhaps the Board is not planning well enough for the long term.

Have you had yearly maintenance increases and/or assessments? How is the Board planning to get out of the red?

You are wise to ask these questions. Continue to do so. Get a petition or a special meeting organized.

Bottom line - this is YOUR money! If the co-op fails, all s/h are in a tough spot. Do your best to prevent that. If that means being a pest, so be it.

You and others have every right to know where your money has been spent and what plan of action the Board is taking to fix the situation.

Every co-op faces the same financial challenges as yours. Fight for your money!

Good luck!

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