Why You Can't Always Go By a Building's Governing Documents

June 2, 2015 — A husband and wife found the perfect apartment — no small feat in the complex world of New York City real estate — located in a "white-glove" co-op, complete with private entrance. Very, very posh. The couple's bid was accepted, but then the pair read the building's governing documents and got a glimpse of living large that made them very uncomfortable. "They said that 'household help' was restricted to using service elevators and entrances, while residents could use the main ones. Two sets of laundry facilities separated such workers from residents. My husband noted that since we would have our own entrance and don’t have any household help, the bylaws wouldn’t affect us. But we would still do our laundry in the separate laundry rooms and would still be a part of what we consider reprehensible policies," they write to Ronda Kaysen in this week's Ask Real Estate column in The New York Times. The couple withdrew its bid and wants to know whether the building's policies are ethical or even legal. Kaysen explains that by definition, a white-glove building "connotes Old World (and old money) sensibilities — a modern-day 'Downton Abbey' on the Upper East Side." After all, Kaysen points out, the term "white-glove building" refers to the gloves its staff either still wears or tended to wear in the past. So it's no surprise that, first, they include language about "household help" and that, second, they have policies in place that keep domestic staff out of sight. Kaysen adds, however, that governing documents don't necessarily offer an accurate picture of a building's culture. For example, the language and policies with which the couple took umbrage may have been drafted decades ago and may be no longer enforced. For better insight, the couple might have asked to read meeting minutes, asked brokers for details about the building's cultural atmosphere or jumped on the old Google machine for an inside scoop.