CO-OP/CONDO BUYERS

We've looked at the evolution of property management companies. As times change and needs grow, so do companies — by merging and pooling their resources together. For smaller companies, such as Gerard J. Picaso Inc., joining forces with a larger one makes good sense.

But is bigger necessarily better?

No, says Peter von Simson, CEO of midsize New Bedford Management. 

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What happens when a developer that plans to build a high-rise condo needs access to the neighboring condo to do prep work and is refused entry? They sue, of course. DNAinfo reports that developer Erik Ekstein needs to "demolish the five-story Madison Avenue Baptist Church at 30 E. 31st Street, but the neighboring condo building, M127, has refused to let workers inside." The developer filed a lawsuit on January 13 in New York Supreme Court against M127 for delaying work. According to the report, M127's managing board denied the developer access to its roof, side yard, and backyard so it can install temporary crack and vibration monitors and waterproofing, along with scaffolding. DNAinfo adds that a member of M127's managing board declined to comment. It's, therefore, not clear what motivated the board to refuse the developer access to its building, but it's potentially made a costly mistake. A lawsuit means time and money wasted. Existing condo (and co-op) boards should take note and not make the same mistake. It's only a matter of time before a developer begins building a new condo right next door — especially given all the construction anticipated this year.  

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A condo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has instituted a policy that requires buyers to pay $1,500 capital contribution charge. According to one of the condo's unit owners, "the bylaws do not give the board authority to require a capital contribution in this situation. In my view, it is essentially a flip tax." What if future boards decide to increase the fee? Is there a way to nip this in the bud? The unit owner reaches out to Ronda Kaysen in the latest "Ask Real Estate" column in The New York Times for some advice. Kaysen explains that the bylaws must give the board explicit permission to collect a capital contribution such as this $1,500 charge. If not, "then the board has certainly overstepped its boundaries" and essentially amended its bylaws — which it can only do if two-thirds of the unit owners vote in favor. Good news for the concerned unit-owner, right? Wrong. Kaysen adds that "the board could probably enforce the rule without a vote." And what if a buyer doesn't want to pay? Well, then, the board can block the sale. What are the odds you'll go to court over 1,500 bucks?

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Some people seem to have all the luck. They spend about a month in New York, and rather than pay for a hotel or stay at an Airbnb accommodation, they buy a co-op. You may be asking yourself, "For a month?!?" Well, if money's no object, who are we to judge? But more money — as in "an extra maintenance fee" — is what one New York co-op wants from a resident who spends most of the year in China and just one month in his co-op apartment. Is the building out of line? After all, it seems unfair to penalize a shareholder with an extra maintenance charge simply because the apartment is not his primary residence. According to Brickunderground.com's Ask the Expert column, it does seem "like an unusual request, since [the shareholder] arguably put less stress on the building’s staff and facilities than full-time residents." But it's legit, explain the Brickunderground.com experts, who all added that they've never seen a provision like this one. "If the building has disclosed this potential fee in either your proprietary lease or your co-op bylaws, it’s legitimate." If it's not in the lease or bylaws, this shareholder may be able to challenge by filing a lawsuit on the grounds that the co-op had no right to impose the fee. Who knows? Maybe with a potential time-consuming and costly lawsuit looming over them, the co-op board may be willing to negotiate.

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Following up on this week's announcement that Governor Andrew Cuomo would be proposing a tax credit to homeowners whose property taxes make up more than 6 percent of their income, a spokesperson for the governor has clarified that yes, co-op and condo owners are included. "Condos and co-ops are included, exactly the same as if you own a home. [They have] a different rate structure, but that doesn't impact the fact that they still pay property taxes," said Morris Peters, a spokesman for the governor's budget office. The property tax credit, which will affect more than 1.3 million homeowners and 1 million renters, will be included in the governor's proposed budget next week. The goal is to aid households whose income is less than $250,000 annually and whose property taxes are at least 6 percent of that income. Outside of New York City, homeowners who fit the financial qualifications will only be eligible if their communities keep their property tax increase under that cap. As far as renters are concerned, the terms to qualify are slightly different: renters must have an income of less than $150,000 and the portion of their rent attributed to property taxes must be more than 6 percent. According the governor's office, "the total taxpayer benefit from this new proposal will reach as high as $1.66 billion on an annual basis" after four years. 

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Will co-ops and condos be included?

It's a fair question. Earlier this week, as part of his proposed budget, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a property tax credit that will affect more than 1 million homeowners and 1 million renters — but was worryingly quiet on whether co-op and condo owners would be affected. 

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When's the last time you reviewed your building's pet policy? Co-ops and condo boards, take note, because wherever you fall on the great ferret debate, you may need to do some revising soon. On January 21, there will be a public hearing on the proposal to lift the ban on ferrets in New York City before the Board of Health. So what's the deal with ferrets? Well, we have to delve in a bit of New York City history for this one. About ten years ago or so, says The New York Times, Rudolph W. Giuliani instituted a ban on ferrets, and totally flipped his lid about them on a radio show wherein he not only confused ferrets with weasels (they are similar, to be fair) but also told a "ferret enthusiast" he was "deranged." Ferrets, explains the Times, are legal in the rest of New York State, not to mention other areas in the country. Fast forward to last spring and Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration — it has "proposed removing ferrets from the city's banned-pet list, a zoological rogues' gallery that also includes rhinoceroses, bats and poisonous centipedes." Consider that even if you don't think they're pretty adorable, ferrets are small and quiet — certainly quieter than dogs. At an average of two pounds, these little guys fall somewhere between house cat and old dog, sleeping for about 18 hours a day, according to one ferret owner who talked to the Times about why they make such ideal pets in the city. As for ferret owners being a little bit nuts, well, it's not like they are trying to keep pet rhinos.

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Speaking of condos, they may be heading to Greenpoint in the nearish future. Brownstowner reports that the New Warsaw Bakery Company, located at 585 Manhattan Avenue, has sold for $8.7 million. Although no demolition permits have been filed for the two-story brick building, "plans call for a seven-story, 14-unit building with two towers." Brownstowner guesses it may be condos. Although this is more good news to potential condo buyers, it's a little sad to that it's at the cost of losing "a piece of Polish Greenpoint" — indeed, part of what makes the neighborhood so charming in the first place. But you know what they say. Location, location, location — and it's little wonder that Chatham Development Company snapped up the 10,000-square-foot piece of prime real estate that stretches all the way through to Lorimer Street between Nassau and Driggs avenues. 

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Just because condo sales slowed down late last year doesn't mean they're going away anytime soon. The sales slowdown, we mentioned, is good news for buyers, who can get choosy — and it looks like they are going to have quite a selection from which to choose. The New York Times reports that 2015 may be the year of the condo: "At least twice as many new condominium units are scheduled to hit the Manhattan market this year as in 2014, the most since 2007." So why are so many condos being built if most forecasts point to fewer sales? It seems like a dose of optimism among brokers and new-development marketers. They concede that buyers may no longer have that sense of urgency to buy, but believe that condos will still sell, even if it takes a little longer than what they've been used to in the past few years. 

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Even if you've never had bedbugs, you know how difficult they are to eradicate. Never mind the stigma of having rats in a building, having bedbugs is downright mortifying. Even if you successfully get rid of them, the horrible little bloodsuckers haunt you — if not for life, then certainly for a long, long time. After all, the experts all caution you that they can lie dormant for up to a year, that they can survive even in something as inhospitable as a printer or an air conditioner… What if, when you were told to pack all your things to protect them from fumigation, you inadvertently packed away a survivor? Itching yet? Well, there's hope in the horizon, thanks to Simon Fraser University biologist Regine Gries, who endured 18,000 bedbug bites in five years for science. According to an article on Business Insider, Gries and her husband, Gerhard, teamed up with chemist Robert Britton, also of Simon Fraser to try to find the secret to trapping them. "Like humans and other animals, bedbugs produce and detect distinct smells… [and] use these odors to communicate." Recreate the scent, and GOTCHA! Business Insider reports that the key ingredient in this bedbug perfume, if you will, is histamine, "which could freeze the bedbugs in their tracks … the same chemical produced by our white blood cells as part of our immune response." The trio is still working on their solution, so we have to wait a little more yet. But isn't that something? Science: It works.  

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