HOW TO RUN YOUR BUILDING! (S1)

Co-op and condo boards are caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to emotional support animals. They have to tread very carefully to not run afoul of anti-discrimination laws and at the same time deal with any unhappy residents who object to the pet. Alvin Wasserman, Senior Director of Asset Management at Fairfield Properties, explains the  perilous path emotional support animals can cause.

What action should co-op & condo boards take in light of today's hard insurance market? Anes Radoncic, Managing Partner of Venture NY Property Management, offers some practical advice.

The compliance landscape has changed today, and many projects which used to be just a capital improvement now have to be viewed through a compliance lens. The question is, which budget bucket do you place it in , which projects can fill more than one bucket, which are the most impactful ones to do early and in what order should you do them? Chris Alker, Senior Vice President of Building Operations at Akam, offers a insight on how to chart this path.

New York City's Local Law 97 is presenting many co-op and condo boards with a vexing conundrum: invest now to avoid fines, or pay fines to avoid large investments. Gary Andriotis, Vice President of All Area Realty Services, points to funding sources that can help, and advises boards to budget now and share findings with your community.

As tempting as it is to hire a contractor to get the job done, it pays to have oversight from a licensed professional. Ira Meister, President of Matthew Adam Properties, shares a story about one of their clients who ran into trouble when a manufacturer installed electric HVAC system basically shut down.  Without a professional overseeing the project, or even a maintenance contract from a service provider,  the co-op  was left in bad straits when the cooling component of the system shut down,

The unexpected does occur, and when it does your co-op or condo better be prepared. Andy Marks, Senior Vice-President, Maxwell-Kates went through trial by fire on the first building he ever managed. He shares his experience here, the lessons he learned, and the steps he took to secure everyone's safety.

In the spring of 2022, New York mandated that for a co-op or condo to qualify for a property tax abatement, it had to pay its staff a prevailing wage. If a building was unionized, this didn't really have an impact. But for those buildings that had non-union employees, the impact has been significant. A.J. Rexhepi, Managing Partner at Century Management, explains the what boards need to weigh before making the wage decision.

Lead is a substance no one wants to find in his or her apartment, or the common area of building either.  But it exists, and there are laws regulating who has to find it, who has to get rid of it, who's legally responsible, and who has to file lead notices with the city.  The law specifically targets rental apartments, and this includes co-op or condo owners who sublet their apartments. Josh Koppel, President of H.S.C Management, shares the story of a client who had a lead problem in one of its apartments.

Meeting the goals of New York's Carbon Mobilization Act can be a tall order for many buildings. In this episode, Fred Rudd, President of Rudd Realty, shares how one of his clients, the St. James Condominium, avoided a fine of $140,000 by investing $1.7 million dollars in energy and carbon reduction projects.  

When doing repairs on your building requires access to your neighbor's property, you need a licensing agreement. But as Margaret McAdams, Director of Management at Buchbinder & Warren explains, that's often easier said than done.  The reasons why vary, but taking one bit of advice can help: Plan in advance.