In our 220 unit co-op-converted in 1984 by the sponsor, who still owns 10 apts. and is also the managing agent, asbestos was discovered when he was forced to do repairs by Housing Court for water intrusion into one of his apt. Under the wood floors, which are the sames ones that came with all the units in the building, black mastic glue was found which contains asbestos. The sponsor (is he still that?) told the Board about it, and has hired a licensed asbestos company to remove the mastic, but we don't know what to do about the rest of the apts. Many of us have renovated our floors, removed the wood, sanded and repaired parts of the parquest floors etc. unaware that there was asbestos that was un-friable, but sanding, scraping could have released airborne particles. Are we negligent as a Board for not requireing shareholders to have subfloors tested prior to renovations? Or is the sponsor negligent because he must have known what lay beneath the floors since he renovated many apts as part of the offering plan. Does the co-op now have an obligation to test for and remove any asbestos in the rest of the apts? Help! Thanks.

Toxic co-op:

Recently I discovered the site shown in this URL along with the “article” shown:
http://www.brickunderground.com/blog/2012/02/ask_an_expert_what_are_some_signs_of_a_bad_co_op
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Then I commented via this URL:
http://www.brickunderground.com/contact
With my notes below:
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The “original” list on the website:
• Financial statements that are not audited or are delivered more than four months after the end of the fiscal year
• A board that doesn't meet on a monthly basis or record minutes
• Negative cash flow
• A history of constant assessments
• Interest or penalties owed for unpaid taxes, or late fees to vendors or contractors
• Dirty public areas of the building
• Problems with mice, rats, and/or mold
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My inline list comments and additions (shown with “[++ ….”), which I believe are more practical and less altruistic than the above list:
• Financial statements that are not audited or are delivered more than four months after the end of the fiscal year [++We are always late as our accountants are busy with other work and we always file for an extension. Given that are financials are 100% perfect, we don’t have an issue.]
• A board that doesn't meet on a monthly basis or record minutes
• Negative cash flow [++ Good point, but needs to be recurring, year after year. Unfortunately, this is not always evident as long term financials are typically unavailable to a potential buyer.]
• A history of constant assessments [++ Totally incorrect perspective as assessments are better planned and prorated over time than applied in backbreaking burdens periodically. Why not have a small assessment every year for ten months of the year (tax purposes) that builds the capital reserves that are inevitably required as a building and its infrastructure ages?].
• Interest or penalties owed for unpaid taxes, or late fees to vendors or contractors [++ not always evident in annual reports.]
• Dirty public areas of the building [++Better view: are there areas that are damaged, unpainted, peeling paint, mechanically non-functioning, etc.]
• Problems with mice, rats, and/or mold [++ Hard to determine, but does coop have an exterminator service that replies to shareholder requests without any extra cost to shareholders.]
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My additions and comments to the above list are:
• A coop with a history of high turnover of presidents and board members, thus demonstrating an absence of management continuity for the coop corporation.
• Recurring refinancing of underlying mortgages without a plan to pay down mortgages
• Multiple mortgages because the Board lack financial planning acumen.
• Mortgages with payment plans that only include interest and minimal to nil principle payoff, (and perhaps a balloon payment) at term.
• Lack of an updated capital improvement / replacement program forecast schedule in accordance with AICPA recommendations, e.g.: Board is flying blind.
• Not having any assessment or a long term program means the Board does not plan for the future and that all financial events and requirements are ad hoc.
• For a coop corporation that is not self-managed, a persistent practice of replacing management firms showing a lack of direction and stability.
• If self-managed, is there a lack of longevity for employees?
• If the coop permits rentals, is the rental percent greater than 10%, giving rise to a transient non-caring population of residents.
• Does the sponsor still own a significant portion of the apartments (e.g: greater than 30%, giving rise to a transient population of residents?
• Does the sponsor have seats on the board? Given the voting percentages required per the proprietary lease, can the sponsor easily block programs to improve the coop. e.g.: voting down capital projects, assessments, maintenance increases, etc., thus creating a stagnant environment?

We are renewing our Laundry lease and have been offered replacements with LG washers model # GCW 1069CS and LG dryers model # GD1329CGS.
Has anyone had experience with this equipment?
Any suggestions as to where I might get reviews of these items?

Folks,

In NJ, a coop’s tax base is equal to the assessed value plus the non-current portion of any underlying coop mortgage(s).

For example there are two identical buildings and both are assessed at $65,000,000.

One building has a mortgages totaling $20,000,000, and the non-current portion of the underlying mortgage is $19,250,000. The other building has no mortgages.

Therefore, the tax base for the first building is $84,250,000, while the tax base for the second building remains $65,000,000.

By definition the taxes for the first building are 29.6% higher than the second building because of the rule requiring the inclusion of the non-current mortgage principle.

My question: Are taxes for NYC coops similarly calculated when there the coop has underlying mortgages(s)?

If no, OK and thanks.

If yes, and not exactly the same, what is the calculation please.

Thanks

Hi Board Talk, I am a freelance journalist writing a story for a leading NYC newspaper about conflicts within condos and co-ops where some residents obey the rules and recycle their garbage and others don't tow the line. If you would like to share your experience - either on the record or anonymously - I would be very interested. Doesn't matter which side of the recycling fence you stand. I would particularly like to hear horror stories and how they were or weren't resolved. I guarantee anonymity if you don't want your name used. Best wishes, Jane

Sponsor who has 11 units left in a 48 apartment building in Queens hired a management company that has application fee of $350.00 and another $250.00 management fee for processing the application. The cost to the management company to do the background investigation is $25.00. Can you give me information on how many people are paying this amount for selling and renting? This is just simple greed.
Thank you.

Does a stockholder have the right to a list of all the stockholder's names and emails in New York State for a non-profit corporation?

I'm curious whether folks think it's a good time to lock in natural gas pricing for a long-term contract and if so, what ESCO's seem to be the better ones for deals? Best I'm seeing is 18-24 month contracts where I can lock in around .57 - .60 / therm.

our managing agent handles resident complaints, suggestions etc regarding staff. In respondng to a He has recently stated that when a resident compins about an issue regarding staff, there wil be no confidentiallity and the name of the resident will be revealed to the staff. This seems shockingly inappropriate given the potential problems with such a situation. Especially since out building has a history of staff problems. comments?

In my co-op board members are not interested about finances. They just ignore this part, unlike me. They don’t like that I am reviewing financial records and made many obstacles for me to read documents. Like, when a board member can review financial information needs to take an appointment, and it’s allowed only 1 hour per week with supervision of one person from a management company.

Our monthly financial reports include also personal shareholders information as part arrears report. Two times I made motion to split that report in two sections: financial and personal information. After that financial section would not need supervision and time restriction. However my motions were rejected two times.

Surprisingly, the next day after the meeting, the management company had divided the monthly financial reports without board motion, approval and knowledge. And they change the localization of those documents. Nobody – president, vice-president and manager respond to my questions where the documents are right now.

Is this legal what the management company did without the board consent about this? It is Ok when the board says No, and the next day the management is doing something opposite?

Nobody from the board cares about it. Do you have any idea what to do in this situation?