Customer Reviews

The New York Co-op Bible: Everything You Need to Know About Co-ops and Condos: Getting In, Staying In, Surviving, Thriving

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Pros of co-op ownership:
You can actually afford to own something.
You can have a tax write off like normal people.

Cons of co-op ownership:
Everything else.

Enter The New York Co-op Bible. I had it, read it, lost it am now purchasing a second copy after looking high and low for the first one I bought. That should tell you something.

I own a co-op in Metro New York. My managing agent is a jerk, to put it mildly. He blames the board, the board blames him - It's this game they play and it successfully achieves getting nothing done. The super does nothing unless you hold a $20 bill in your hand when you ask. My maintenance is very high for my area. I estimate that it is about 30% higher than comparable properties near me.

This unit has a ground floor patio. I have access to about 30 feet of flower bedding (sans flowers) that lines the front of my unit. This is the primary reason that I bought this place 6 years ago. I am all alone here, from the rural South and I wanted a place to call my own and I needed greenery. And I was really eyeing up those beds and my neighbor's "yard" work which was just beautiful - and still is.

I can't plant anything because of excessive drainage - all the dirt washes into the sidewalk. I have been asking for the split gutter to be repaired (all 30 feet of it) for 6 years.

So - I bought this book. Now - this is the most important thing I learned . . .all this strife between me, the board and the management agent falls under Landlord-Tenant law. This made me feel immensely better. Landlord-Tenant law in the state of New York is normally something the courts don't play around with. Maybe I will have one stinking petunia this year.

The book gets 5 stars because it is very good, COMPREHENSIVE and it is the only single source of this much information on this subject that is available. This woman has really performed a public service by writing this book. Everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE who is considering the purchase of an apartment, has already purchased or is trying to sell needs to read this book. You need to know what the author is trying to convey to maintain your financial health and your mental health and possibly avoid a life sentence. :-)

It can be very diappointing, very stressful and you could find yourself feeling helpless and at the mercy of someone else. To get away from that is why you want to buy in the first place. As in everything else in life, average people who have been given authority like to excercise that authority, even if it does make the owner/tenants feel like crap. And then you might get lucky and get a managing agent like mine who is sadistic and has actually brought several of our elderly residents to tears. Nice guy.

By the way, no seller is legally obligated to tell you that the board are boobs and that the managing agent is a cretin. Do your homework, do your homework, do your homework.

So read Ms. Shapiro's book and BELIEVE what she is saying because it is the truth.

To be forwarned is to be forearmed. And being a shareholder of a coop can be war.

Good luck.

PS - If you need more immediate help, please call your local office of the Attorney General of New York. They publish and will provide additional information regarding your rights under New York State law.

This book has a lot of great details on how to think about buying (and living in) a co-op in New York City. 2 caveats come to mind:

1) Book is much more suited for you if you're buying in Manhattan. Many of the co-ops in Brooklyn I researched didn't quite match what I expected based on this book.
2) Though condos are mentioned in the title, the book is really more about co-ops... look elsewhere for details on buying a condo.

She is very organized and a great writer. She is probably a great lawyer - she anticipates what the reader would want to know.

My one problem with her is she should have added a chapter on representing yourself as a seller or buyer. There is nothing to it, if you have better than average reading skills and healthy amount of common sense.

However, the New York real estate attorneys are into self promotion. THey insist on everyone hiring a real estate attorney. It's an industry wide racket: Some brokers will falsely tell you you have to hire one. It's a total lie don't believe them. These lawyers don't even do anything lawyerly, they just make phone calls for you. They are for lazy people who don't want to understand basic contract principles.

There could be a Nolo type guide on this subject. Then lots of people could save a bundle, $2,000 or more. Probably the author who proposes this book will be mysteriously found dead.

Very thorough and carefully, occasionally humorously, written guide to co-ops. Relevant to me, as I was in the midst of buying one. Helped me to understand the process.

As the cover states, this book was written by a coop board president. To a large extent it treats the coop apartment owner's concerns with contempt or does not cover them adequately. It does not cover the rules that protect the individual owner or how they are enforced. This is a difficult subject to cover but there's really no attempt.

For example the book seems to suggest that because the owner is a shareholder in the coop, s/he cannot sue the coop because it would be the same as suing themselves. This is a nice theory (for the coop board president), however I think its more likely that coop boards and managers are required by law to discharge certain responsibilities.

In a coop there are different communities of interests. For example those who have large apartments might have different priorities than people with small ones. The sponsor has different interests because they want to improve the building, but probably don't live there. In fact, the sponsor may be a corporation rather than a person. There have to be resources, and having bought the book trying to find out what they are, I was very disappointed.

Simply the best comprehensive resource for CO-OP owners, buyers, sellers. Ms. Shapiro has provided an excellent reference guide for the residential CO-OP world in Manhattan. As a life long New Yorker and a
CO-OP Board President, I appreciate her candor, humor, and on-target advice. A great guide for CO-OP boards, attorney's and real estate brokers. Sharon Fahy June, 2009

It's hard for New Yorkers to find a book about buying a co-op. Most books appeal to the broadest possible audience covering houses and condos. Maybe they will throw in a few references to co-ops. But there is more than a couple pages of differing important info that one needs to know. This book takes a different tone and targets a very specific audience - New York City co-ops. It is Manhattan centric, but that's better than ignoring NY all together.

The book is written by a lawyer and co-op president. (And obviously co-op tenant.) She describes things from all three perspectives. She covers plenty of examples - often worst case examples. If you aren't already familiar with the concept of a co-op, this book may scare you.

There are lots of lists of questions you should look into when buying. She also walks you through the application and board approval process something I haven't seen covered in other books.

A large portion of the book covers co-op living. What you need board approval for, being a good neighbor, etc. I felt too much of the book was spent on when you can skirt the rules. For example, she explains if the building says "no dogs" and you move in with a dog which the co-op ignores for X months, etc... For crying out loud. A "no dog" or "no pet" policy isn't a secret. You know about it before you apply. Apply somewhere else if you want to have a dog. Or buy a house. If you don't like following rules, you aren't going to like living in a co-op. There are a lot of rules in community living. Skirting the rules isn't going to make you a good neighbor. Why put yourself in that situation.

The other thing I didn't like was the overly dramatized tone the whole book took. From the co-op application process, to Board interview, to day to day living, she describes the Board as an enemy you are at war with. The Board consists of your neighbors who are kind enough to volunteer their time. They (typically) live in the building as well and are not the enemy. And I don't think the author even means it. I think she is using it as a writing device to keep the language interesting. But people who take it literally come away with negative feelings about their Boards.

Having lived in a co-op, I was able to tune out the parts of the book I didn't like. I did have to take off one star for it though. I still highly recommend the book though .

This was a very frustrating book to read. The author thought she was so clever, taking metaphors too far, and coming up with convoluted phrasing. I was buying an apartment and had a lot to learn. I wasn't looking for "charming", contrived metaphors about castles and such. Maybe there was useful info in there; it just took too long to find it.
If you want a copy of this book, you can probably still find my copy in the gutter in the West 60s. But if you need to get some quick education about buying a co-op, I recommend buying another book.

As the owner of a real estate company in Manhattan and an attorney, I recommend this book as a superb guide to understanding the residential cooperative market.