Shows / How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Whether you've served on your co-op/condo board for a long time, or just started, there are a myriad of professionals you will interact with and learn from. In this series, Habitat Magazine editors interview the leading New York property management executives to find out what works, what doesn't and where board challenges lie. You'll learn valuable insider tips and resources for solving the myriad of problems that you might face while governing your building.
Episodes
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Why Ignoring Your Ballot Means Voting No
A condo with fewer than forty units and a nine-member board spent years trying to pass two amendments: reducing the board and a building-wide smoking ban. Most…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Six Buildings, 400 Shareholders and One Big Facade Decision
When a Jackson Heights co-op’s FISP deadline landed just before its mortgage came due, Evangelos Fantakos, managing member and CEO of Highrise Property…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
The Hidden HDFC Price Tag
Imagine paying the same $300 maintenance today that your building charged decades ago. For some shareholders in New York's HDFC co-ops, that's reality, and it…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
One Resident, One Leak, One Standoff
A Brooklyn condo has been fighting sponsor-related leaks for years, seeping through facades and terraces into the units below. The fix seemed straightforward…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Why Some Boards Are Choosing to Pay the Carbon Tax
Local Law 97 promises a greener city, but for many boards the math simply doesn't add up. Dan Wollman, CEO of Gumley Haft Management, unpacks the tension…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Behind the Chaos of NYC Building Transitions
What do you do when a building is completely gutted by fire and insurance doesn't cover the full rebuild? Or when a sponsor-managed property leaves residents…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
How Deferred Fixes Turn Healthy Buildings Into Financial Risks
The property management industry has transformed dramatically, and three leading executives reveal what it takes to keep NYC buildings ahead of the curve. AJ…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
How to Turn a Two Million Dollar Crisis Into a Win
When a condominium's facade project ballooned to over two million dollars, the board was facing a crisis. The solution involved unconventional contractor…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
How Withholding Information Complicates Management Transitions
Behind many co-op and condo property management switches are stories of broken trust, hidden problems, and boards desperate for answers. Andre Kaplan, CFO at…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Did Your Building's Budget Problems Start Years Ago?
You probably think your board is managing your building’s finances responsibly. But are you certain? In this episode, three of New York City's leading property…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Why NYC Property Management Just Got Extremely Complicated
Something fundamental has shifted in NYC property management, and Kyle Gregory from New Way Management and Margaret McAdams from Buchbinder & Warren are…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Why Management Transitions Fail — and How to Avoid Disaster
If you’re thinking about switching management companies, buckle up. You might be preparing to sabotage your new management relationship without even realizing…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
How Smart Planning Prevents Building Panic
Planning and executing building projects is a board’s key task, which sounds much simpler than it actually is. Complicating the task is timing, financing and…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
The Hidden Challenges of Switching Management Companies
Changing managing companies can be a fraught endeavor, but it’s a hurdle many boards will face at least once. Habitat’s Emily Myers sits down with three…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
When Your Building's Mortgage Bomb Explodes in 2025
If your building's mortgage is coming due soon, you're not alone — and you're definitely not prepared for what's coming. Don Einsidler, president of Einsidler…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Why Your Next Construction Project Needs a Professional Quarterback
It's true that construction projects tend to go over budget, behind schedule, and drive residents crazy. Matt Resnick, senior director of project management at…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Your Commercial Unit Owner May Be Secretly Costing You Thousands Every Year
Surprise! You might be subsidizing your commercial unit owner's expenses. This eye-opening conversation with property management expert Greg Poverelli, senior…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Breaking the Two-Thirds Barrier and Successfully Updating Your Building's Governing Documents
If you're struggling to get enough votes to update your building's outdated governing documents, Mark Levine, principal at EBMG Management, offers a roadmap…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Inside a Co-op's Insurance Nightmare and Remarkable Recovery
If your building was suddenly hit with a 400% insurance premium hike, who do you turn to? That was the question facing a Queens co-op after a devastating fire…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Building a Better Future with Smart Reserve Planning
Do you know why an effective capital reserve plan is crucial for your building's financial health? Learn how one Chelsea condo transformed their approach to…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Facing NYC's "Perfect Storm" of Compliance Deadlines
It's coming: the convergence of multiple critical compliance deadlines that could devastate your building's finances. Hear how one 63-unit co-op is tackling…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
What Happens When Nobody Shows Up to Approve Your Building Loan?
Who will show up for your co-op or condo’s annual meeting and will you have enough shareholders or unit-owners to conduct the necessary business at hand?…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Why Contractor Insurance Policies Matter More Than Ever
Labor law insurance claims continue to threaten insurance coverage for buildings, but there are some actionable items co-op and condo boards can take to reduce…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Breaking the Budget Code
Budget shortfalls are a nightmare. But manipulating the numbers to create artificially low assessments or maintenance increases can have even worse…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Quorum Without the Commute
Struggling to get quorum for your board meetings? Even after the pandemic, virtual meetings are transforming co-op and condo board operations. Buildings across…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Collecting Late Fees: A 3-Step Strategy for Co-ops and Condos
Discover how proper management of maintenance payments and common charges directly impacts your building's financial stability. Payments are typically…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Rising Insurance Costs and Budget Solutions for NYC Co-ops and Condos
Carol Ott of Habitat Magazine interviews Carl Borenstein, president of Veritas Management, about managing rising costs in co-op and condo buildings. Borenstein…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Beyond the Emergency: How to Lead Your Building Through Long-term Displacement
In conversation with Habitat's Paula Chin, Robert Ferrara, president of the Ferrara Management Group, shares invaluable insights from managing a devastating…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Stop the Revolving Door: How to Choose a Management Company That Will Last
In this insightful conversation with Melissa Cafiero, director of management at Halstead Management, board directors get a behind-the-scenes look at how…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
From Annual Shock to Monthly Payments: A New Approach to Insurance Premiums
Insurance premiums for co-ops and condos are surging with double-digit increases year after year, and boards must pay these hefty fees upfront. But there's a…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Red Flags and Rescue Plans: When and How to Change Your Building's Management
Changing property managers for your co-op or condo can feel like performing surgery while the patient is awake — everything needs to keep running smoothly…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Your Co-op Missed Two Years of Elections — Now What?
The pandemic's impact on co-op and condo governance continues in 2025, with some properties still feeling the fallout from missed annual meetings in 2020 and…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Cash Flow Secrets: Why Your Building's Bank Balance Is Deceiving
Tracking your building’s financial health can be confusing, and one of the reasons is that your building’s bank balance doesn’t tell the whole story. In this…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
The A-Word: Taking the Sting Out of Building Assessments
Historically co-ops and condos have been able to borrow money for building improvements and compliance requirements in an affordable way. With interest rates…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Follow the Water: How a Simple Leak Led to Diplomatic Relations
Water damage is not a unique occurrence in residential apartment buildings, but a recent crisis at an Upper East Side co-op got complicated to fix. Water was…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Show Me The Money: Strategic Options for Co-op and Condo Compliance Costs
One of the most pressing challenges facing NYC co-ops and condos is how to fund expensive local law compliance requirements. In this episode Armin Radoncic…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
First-Time Condo Buyers Beware: The Real Story Behind 'Affordable' Monthly Charges
Transitioning from a developer to a condo board can bring unwelcome surprises and stark choices. That was the case at a Brooklyn condo, when new management…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
From Oil to Opportunity: How One Queens Co-op Slashed Energy Costs by 70%
While the dazzle of the latest energy reduction solutions is out of bounds for many co-ops and condos, the tried and true can often achieve just as much…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Why Transparency Is Key
A primary responsibility of the board of directors is protecting the building’s financial health. To do that, transparency is paramount. In this episode…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
When Boards Get Stuck: Breaking Through the Paralysis
Board inertia is a corporate disease that many members grapple with. Decisions get put off, problems grow and ultimately the health of the housing association…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Condo Crisis: $550K Facade Job Balloons to $1.2M
A cautionary tale of facade repairs at an Upper East Side condo, where initial estimates of $550,000 ballooned to $1.2 million after engineers discovered…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Get Your Board Head Out of The Sand
If a co-op or condo building operates at a deficit, there are only two outcomes – payables are late and cash erodes. That’s what Daniel Wollman, CEO of Gumley…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
A Gas Story: How One Board Didn't Wait For The Inevitable
One of the most reliable sources of fuel for New York’s apartment buildings is gas, but the lines that it flows through — from heating to cooking — have become…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Finding Energy Saving Strategies That Make Economic Sense
There are many strategies – and price points – that will reduce energy consumption in a building, and Stuart Halper, vice president of Impact Management…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
How To Handle An Aggrieved Shareholder
There are two sides to every problem - and sometimes even more. When one crops up in a co-op or condo, someone has to step back, take a breath, maybe eat some…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
How Does Your Board Use Technology?
Technology has made managing co-op and condo buildings more efficient and has certainly changed the property management business. But how has it impacted co-op…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
How One Board Turned A Setback Into A Success
A bundle of projects at a downtown condominium was humming along smoothly - until they weren’t. A problem was discovered with the building’s vault which drove…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Why Your Board's Governing Documents Deserve a Fresh Look
Sitting on the back burner of all the issues your board must think about are its governing documents. Often written in legalize, sometimes difficult to change…
- How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and Condos
Turning A Gas Nightmare Into A Triumph
In the annals of gas inspections, this 45-unit co-op faced a unique one. The board learned from their plumber that the individual boilers and water heaters in…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosPeter von Simson
With the cost of building projects getting more expensive each year co-op and condo boards need to anticipate owner concern. Here, Peter von Simson, CEO of New…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosMark Levine
It's all about preparation, not only for the topics covered, but most importantly for vote taking. Mark Levine, Principal of EBMG, walks through the prep steps…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosAndre Kaplan
Creating a budget that merges capital planning with operations is no small feat. Andre Kaplan, CFO of Orsid New York, explains how balancing the three mains…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosAndy Marks
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…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosChris Alker
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 lense. The…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosJosh Koppel
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…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosAnes Radoncic
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…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosArmin Radoncic
Property taxes are a perennial thorn in the side of a building's budget. But they have to be budgeted for, and in many cases, protested. The process is fairly…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosDawn Dickstein
Given today's rising interest rates, it may be tempting for boards whose mortgage is coming due to put off refinancing until the last minute. But whether…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosDrew Posner
When a condo is making the transition from sponsor to board control serious structural issues are often uncovered. That's when management, says Drew Posner…
How To Run Your Building! For Co-ops and CondosFred Rudd
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…