Why house rules are important and should be followed

If you live in a coop, condo, or HOA, you likely have wondered about the House Rules, why they exist (seemingly to randomly torture residents), and whether they are necessary. Well, rest assured, they do indeed serve a practical purpose. We believe it is of the utmost importance that all residents are treated equally and fairly; House Rules are one of the ways to codify this uniformly. READ MORE=>>

As a NYC coop or condo owner, you might think that you have everything under control. But even the best coop or condo owner makes mistakes. It is important to be aware of the common mistakes that other coop and condo owners make. By avoiding these mistakes, you can save yourself time, money, and stress. Read more =>>

Tina Larsson spoke with the New York Business Journal about how she ended up co-founding The Folson Group after saving her own building $340,000, by accident.

See full article in the New York Business Journal

Things that everyone can do to make every day Earth Day

Friday marks the 52nd annual Earth Day. In response to a massive oil spill in waters near Santa Barbara, CA, Earth Day was coined by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. It has been celebrated in the US each April 22nd and went global in 1990. Today, over 1 billion people recognize Earth Day. To celebrate, here are 22 things that you can do to help make a positive impact on the environment READ MORE =>>

LL11 + FISP = LOL + OMG!

During a walk-through of the building with a building’s exterior professional engineer, the construction team pointed out that some of the caulking around the windows was failing or about to fail. It was not named in the initial Façade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) report where the building had received a SWARMP, and this was not a safety hazard to anyone outside. READ MORE=>>

Is your building UNSAFE, SWARMP or SAFE

Few people are able to show passion for navigating New York City building compliance. And it’s really no wonder, just saying “FISP” (Facade Inspection Safety Program, formerly Local Law 11) leaves you scratching your head rather than getting excited. But that’s not true for Board President, Diane Drey, who took the time to lead her building’s FISP project and along the way wrote a guide for other Board Members and Property Managers.

We sat down and asked her what inspired this “labor of love”. Read more =>>

What’s the buzz about heat pumps?

You’re on your coop or condo board and you keep hearing about electrifying buildings. What is the buzz about heat pumps and where do you start?

For decades, NYC building owners, property managers and coop and condo boards have been recommended and incentivized to switch from oil to natural gas. The energy efficiency codes are many and have been refined and harshened over the years. READ MORE =>>

Does your building’s board make decisions independently or do you rely on the property manager for decisions, advice, and authority?

Property management is an essential part of most residential buildings.

From day-to-day operations, monthly billing and collections, resident questions, complaints and other administrative tasks, property management is a necessary piece of your functioning puzzle. However, this should not stop a condo or coop board from taking an active, and pro-active, position regarding their building and its operations.

Think of it this way: your coop or condo building is really a business and should be run like a business. You are the part-owner. READ MORE=>>

How to go from wanting to fire the super to making them a hero

So, you want to fire your super, handyman, or doorman? Think again. Coop and condo board members and residents often ask us about their staff. They frequently have a list of opinions ranging from laziness to mistrust, overtime and mismanagement. However, it is not often that they can pinpoint any precise examples. This leads us to ask some follow-up questions, to which most coop and condo owners and boards often do not have an answer.

To turn this around, we put together some ideas that might assist coop and condo boards help the staff, including the super, to run a better building, making them the heroes =>>>

Many of us have been there. Face down after stumbling on an uneven or slippery sidewalk. We are not talking on the way home from a happy hour. We are talking about broad daylight when going to the store or the subway. That begs for the question, who is responsible for the sidewalks? Read HERE=>>