By JAY ROMANO Published: September 14, 2012 Q. What are the rights of a rent-controlled tenant who will not be buying in a building being converted to condominium ownership? Will owning a weekend home have an impact? A. Leonard H. Ritz, a Manhattan co-op and condominium lawyer, said that if this is a noneviction condominium conversion (as Full Article…
Q&A No Pets, No Parties–No Smoking?
Barbara Langdon and her boyfriend saw a loft for sale on West 15th Street right before Christmas and knew they’d found a winner. It was in great shape and sprawled over 2,300 square feet, just what they wanted, so they made an offer for $1.75 million that was quickly accepted. “We were excited because we’d only been looking three weeks,” Langdon remembers. Soon after, though, their broker called to convey a fussy bit of news: The coop was entirely nonsmoking, not just in common areas but also in the apartments. “That was the dealbreaker,” says Langdon—never mind that she doesn’t smoke. “How dare they tell me what to do in my own apartment.” Apparently, they Full Article…
Money (That’s What I Want),Habitat
The 16-unit East Village co-op has come a long way. Many shareholders have been there from its days as a down-and-out rental building, through its conversion to a Housing Development Fund Corporation property to the present. Now, as a strong, self-managed co-op in a hot neighborhood, the prices of apartments have skyrocketed. The shareholders are Full Article…
What a Revolting Development
By S. Jhoanna Robledo Published In 2004, Meggan Berley and her husband, empty-nesters in Dobbs Ferry, ditched their longtime rental and bought a new condominium on Spencer Street in Brooklyn. Then the headaches began. On movein day, the floors weren’t finished and the kitchen cabinets had no doors. The Berleys lived amid construction for weeks. Then Full Article…
Tenants Sue Landlord in Attempt To Force Repairs
By Candace Taylor Tenants in a Pinnacle Group building on Riverside Drive and 144th Street are suing their landlord, claiming that the six-story rental building is in need of extensive repairs. The building, at 668 Riverside Dr., is set to undergo a conversion into condominiums, but the tenants are claiming that “mold, constantly leaking pipes, rotting wood, fallen Full Article…
Realty Law Digest–New York Law Journal
Realty Law Digest Scott E. Mollen New York Law Journal | March 16, 2011 Co-Ops — Sellers Rented Apartment Before Board Approved the Pending Sale of Their Co-Op and Board Rejected the Sale — Sellers Sued — Individual Board Members Had No Personal Liability— NYS Human Rights Law — Federal Fair Housing Act— Breach of Fiduciary Duty — Full Article…
Appellate Division Finds that Condo Board Not Liable For Repairing Newly Constructed Building
On November 8, 2009, the Appellate Division ruled that a building’s developer and not a condominium board shall be responsible for making repairs to a newly constructed building. In Lorne v. 50 Madison Avenue LLC, a unit owner sued the board of directors for failing to remediate a construction defect. A unanimous Appellate Division dismissed Full Article…
Are Buyers of New Condos and Co-ops Subject to Caveat Emptor?
BY ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY AND JOHN M. DESIDERIO Before purchasing a condominium or cooperative apartment in a newly built high rise of six or more stories in New York, a prospective buyer needs to pay close attention to the warranty provisions of the sponsor’s offering plan and purchase agreement. Unless the agreement contains the sponsor’s Full Article…