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If a special shareholder's meeting is being called for the purpose of voting to terminate a shareholder's tenancy, as happened in the Pullman case, does the shareholder that the Corp wants to oust get to vote? In other words, is the 75% majority needed to succeed in terminating their lease comprised of 100% of shares excluding the shareholder in question? In the 2006 Lapidus case, an article in NY Times states 98% of shareholders voted in favor of terminating Lapidus' lease--this percentage in favor seems impossible if shareholder Lapidus was allowed to vote. Hence my question of who is allowed to vote at the special meeting.
looking for a good boiler installation contractor to replace an oil fired (#2) boiler in a 24 unit co-op in Chelsea. Also does anyone know how long it takes to get the various permits from the city for removal and installation
Can anyone refer a name or phone number of roof antenna companies who would be interested in installing antennas on my co-op's roof?
I posted this below and decided to repost it under a seperate heading to generate more reading and hopefully assist more people...
Budgeting for Economic Stability
I have not been on in a while and it is good to see some old/familiar people…
In light of some post that I am reading and recent conditions, I decided to post the following to assist some Boards with creating (modifying) their 09 budget
It is important for management when creating the budget to consider the posterity of the building.
Budgeting as most US households today, and as our government does by pushing financial responsibility into the future is irresponsible. We do not and should not EVER borrow to pay bills in our personal or business lives. (I have 2 buildings going debt/mortgage free this year!)
When creating a budget, all anticipated annual expenses are taken into account, based on the current years spending, announced water/utility increases, Taxes (future taxes can be obtained from the DOF website), regular expenses, anticipated salaries, and other expected expenses.
Additionally, the condition of the building and anticipated physical maintenance costs are important to factor in; most people become modest here, but do not be. It is a good idea to obtain an engineer’s condition report and a five year capital plan from a good engineer to assist in pinpointing this number. Forget the fact that fuel dropped, leave the number alone!
Once you have a solid list and sum of anticipated expenses, then calculate what your required income (maintenance) should be per share and add 5-7%. This should be your new maintenance
Hope this helps someone...
~AR
There is a posting herein where the individual asserts raising maintenance is being “lazy”.
May I suggest that in a well run building, whether self managed or managed via a property management company, husbanding funds should be a way of life, de rigueur.
Thus, in a well run building, there are increases every year in maintenance fees (and perhaps assessments) to account for salary increases, utility increases, tax increases, insurance might be a bit variable and could even decrease if one is willing to front more of the deductible, preventative maintenance increases as the building ages.
To avoid increases is perhaps to invite insolvency.
To delay capital expenditures is perhaps flirting with disaster or at a minimum poor services to the residents, e.g.: lack of hot water, heat, leaky roof, etc.
To refinance is to condemn future owners to payments for improvements enjoyed by current residents. Not really fair when you look at it that way.
Remember, corporations borrow to create new or improved products and thus generate more revenue and produce more profits.
By borrowing, what new or improved products are generated that benefit the building / property? None!!
So why borrow? Why refinance?
Why pay interest expense that is of no value to the corporation (e.g.: building and owners)?
Think about it please.
Could anyone suggest a good roofing contractor for our Co-Op's brownstone roof?
Thanks,
David
Has anyone replaced an underground tank recently? Did you obtain the services of an engineering company? What was your experience?
I will appreciate your comments and recommendations.
AAA
I live in a nice new high rise in a 1 bedroom apt of 550-600 sq ft in midtown Manhattan. Rent is $3,300 which is killing me right now because bear markets suck with my income down significantly in the last two years (there are many morons I can thank for that). Perhaps I rented this apartment a little overconfidently based on a great first year of income in 2006 out of grad school. I am ashamed to admit the disgrace that I was laid off from my job with about 5 months of salary, but it is the case - and the rent is high. The building had a holiday note with the list of all the employees. Often the tipping that people do is based more on who has the power to be a pain in the ass than who has done the most labor.
There are roughly 250 apartments in the building.
Googling around, some other people gave a list of what they tipped for a similar building and it came out to roughly $600-$800!!!!!!!!!!
I was thinking $100 total until Google gave me a reality check...andI saw the list of 16 employees, most of whom I never met.
Our building's staff:
Resident Manager - Some person who I never met and never heard of. $20 (Google showed people give $200 quite often)
3 Handymen - One I never heard of ($10), One has been helpful on the three occassions we asked ($40)and one was helpful on the one time we requested help ($20). Googling showed that $40 was avg.
6 Concierges/DoorPeople - All friendly and very smily. I like them, but don't really know their names. All pleasant people though. They are not really doorpeople since they mostly sit behind the desk and do not actually open the doors and quite frankly, I can open the door myself - which have motion detectors to open the door. They get my larger pieces of mail and things that are signed for etc and are a first line of security. $20 each. Google had a $50 bare minimum for each.
6 Porters - Apparently a porter maintains a lot of the common space etc for the building. Don't know any of them. $10 each. Google said most people avg about $20 per porter.
So, the bill comes to $270...and it looks like, according to Google, that I am a super cheap son of a bitch that will get dirty scroogy looks for the rest of the year and shitty service for the year (though I demand almost no service).
So, am I cheap son of a bitch? Or are the people paying $600-$800 out of their minds? Or is it a bear market and I am not the only one who will seem like scrooge?
Confused
Is it proper procedure give a property manager a bonus,out of the condo funds(condo itself--board approval)or the unit owner gives or none
at all. I know the super or,handyman etc. gets.
Can a Board order a managing agent to run a credit check on a shareholder who is chronically in arrears? Someone told us we have to get permission from the shareholder first. We want to get a snapshot on his financial situation. He is a problematic shareholder in many regards so don't anticipate his cooperation.
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Check your Proprietary Lease for details on terminating a lease for "objectionable conduct" -- it's often Paragraph 31(f). Different leases have different procedures: some require only a 2/3 majority vote of the Board. Take a look at the decision in London Terrace Towers v. Michael Davis.
Most importantly: Consult your lawyer! This is a drastic and awful step for everyone involved.
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