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Welcome to Board Talk, the area of Habitatmag.com where co-op.condo board directors can chat about topics that they face, and have to make choices about. We welcome intelligent and informed discussion to our forum. If you are going to criticize an individual or firm, we ask that you take responsibility for doing so by signing your name and board or company position. Anonymous criticisms are not useful, and are subject to deletion.

Rats — LuvsBooks, Fri Mar 12 4:37pm
So... what do YOU do about rats invading your outdoor space from adjoining yards?
trash compactor — LuvsBooks, Fri Mar 12 4:33pm
Doing some research for my co-op... anyone out there have: 1) experience with trash compactors for a small (45 unit) building, either retrofitting or installing a stand-alone system? 2) reliable references for/contacts in the compactor industry? 3) anecdotal information re: implementation of a compactor system and the ... more
Certificate of Incorporation — D, Tue Mar 9 6:05pm
Would anyone know how I could attain a copy or preview on the internet our Certificate of Incorporation for our coop building in New York?
Maintaining / Increasing value — Bloom, Mon Mar 8 2:07pm
What are the top priority issues that a board should focus on in order to maintain, dare I say increase, values of the apartments in their building, and the building itself?
Coercion by BOD — Anonymous, Tue Mar 2 10:53pm
Our board of directors has just issued a notice to all shareholders threatening to increase our monthly maintenance bill by $100 a month unless and until we agree to let the pest control people spray pesticide in our apartments. We have no rodent or pest problems in our apartment and have never signed up to have it... more
ch5 inspection of books and records — escapefromyonkers, Tue Mar 2 2:31am
Since my board president has been fighting transparency and since I've caught too many manipulations, such as the annual financial report arriving 2 days after the annual meeting, whereas for the last 25 years it arrived week before the annual meeting, A couple times the directors ballot was stapled to the annual... more
Tax Deductibility of Maintenance — Jeff Bloom, Thu Feb 25 4:22pm
Can anyone explain in simple terms what it means for a shareholder with regard to the tax deductibility of their yearly maintenance?
Apt Noise — sorrenti, Thu Feb 25 3:35pm
My husband and I live in a condo that has no insulation between floors. The floor is wood with less than eight of and inch cork then concrete then my ceiling, no sheetrock so the sound travels. My upstairs neighbors refuses to carpet their apt. by 80% as stated in the by l-laws. They have a child who hammers and drops ... more
how many coops still have the sponsor as the building manger — escapefromyonkers, Wed Feb 24 5:27pm
this co-op became official around 25 years ago. i was here . we still have the same building manger, who was the sponsor. i wanted to get someone else twenty years ago. now i see how we get the round robin of building agents, the people at one building get fed up ,so they just keep moving them around. Since there are... more
condo taking out a loan — Sandy, Wed Feb 24 5:03pm
I live in a fairly large condo building. Our new board (2010) has opted to take out a loan for maintenance on our building. They plan to pay only the interest on this loan. There is no telling when and if there will be enough funds to pay back the principle. We have several units already in default for well over a... more
Wheelchair Ramps — Boerum, Mon Feb 22 8:45pm
We just had a resident come down with a devastating disease that has quickly required the use of a power wheelchair. We have a low step but no ramp at the entrance. Does anyone know of a source for a temporary ramp that can be used for a power chair? The ones found by our agent are rather flimsy and/or too long. A... more
Board Member Recusal from Vote? — MR, Sun Feb 21 2:57pm
We had a Board Members vote on whether or not to refinance our building early for much more than our current mortgage in order to pay some debts and future improvements.Our current loan is good for another three years. At the meeting, it was revealed that two of the five members on the Board will be moving within the... more
SPECIAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING — D, Fri Feb 19 3:05pm
A letter just went around the building from the majority board members that we want removed. It states the following: The purpose of this memorandum is to reiterate that the Special Shareholders election ("it was not an election, it was to remove")to vote whether to remove or not remove 4 members of the Board,... more
Special Shareholders Meeting — D, Thu Feb 18 2:47pm
We recently had a Special Shareholders meeting. We counted the votes and when the attorney for the building, Mr. Karl Bikhman saw that his clients were losing by plaurality, he than stated the BCL and bypassed the By-Laws. The BCL read as he stated that if the election was counted as Culmative than the Special... more
board has turned coop into investment building — escapefromyonkers, Wed Feb 17 3:28pm
i was a shareholder at the conversion oer 25 years ago. i was a board member during the first 10 years. The board always kept the ratio of shareholder to subtenent/unsold shares at a strict 20% magamum to ensure the financialaqnd skin in the game wellbeing of the co-op. I have found out that many of the new people... more
aggression — G K, Sun Feb 14 3:15pm
We’ve got a bit of a problem here in the building. Three people (four, if you count one who moved away) have felt threatened by a particular SH. The incidents occur one-on-one. Full disclosure, I am one of the four people and I did manage to record one of the incidents on my iPhone. I also still have a threatening... more
Renegade Coop Board President — Joseph D, Sun Feb 14 10:16am
I have ben living in a Coop Sherwood Village b ,this is one of the most incompetent people I have been with in my entire life so far ,they are unable to understand the word progress ,they believe in arnachy and dictating to others which had led to many financials disaster in our coop ,The Coop secretary is too busy... more
Doggies — justwondering, Sun Feb 14 1:51am
I live in a co-op with a no pet policy. However, permission was granted to those who had small dogs before we all became residents of this newly built coop back in 2004. However, lately, I'm seeing more dogs and bigger dogs. How can the policy be enforced? We have fees in place, but sensitive to enforce. And, I can... more
Fees — justwondering, Sun Feb 14 1:40am
What is a good policy for "flip" tax, especially when you want to incoporate grandfathering in a coop? Most owners are original (bldg 2004). We had about 5 sales since.
  • Fees — Board Prez, Tue Feb 16 7:30pm
grandfathering — G K, Sat Feb 13 1:28pm
Hello, I have read what I could find in past messages about boards creating new policy and grandfathering. I am ambivalent about grandfathering and I wonder if there is any widely accepted best practice or law that could offer guidance as we (my fellow board officers and I) consider the pros and cons. Buying into a... more