Many people who pass away also leave behind the place in which they resided. The housing could be a rental apartment, a cooperative or condominium unit, or a house. The deceased may not necessarily have resided in the property immediately before death if they went to assisted living or a…
Many parties to real estate transactions focus not only on the house or the apartment that is involved in the transaction, but also on fixtures and items of personal property. Should a buyer expect that all lighting fixtures are included in the deal? What if a seller wants to take…
Our attorneys handle many real estate transactions on behalf of our clients each year. Most clients selling their houses, cooperative or condominium units use the services of a licensed real estate agent. Other sellers chose to sell without the use of such a professional. These transactions are known as for…
Even Halloween gives rise to legal issues that may pertain to our blog readers. This blog post will address haunted houses, zombie houses, ghosts and other scary situations from a legal perspective. Unfortunately, a crime, suicide or other unpleasant event may have happened in a house prior to sale. Such…
Often in a residential real estate transaction, unpermitted improvements to a house are present. The seller may find that purchasers are unwilling to enter a transaction with these conditions. The buyer may not want the responsibility for obtaining permits for work done by others. Our clients who are parties to…
Attorneys provide valuable legal services on behalf of cooperative and condominium boards. Some buildings with fewer than ten units and without disputes have managed without an attorney representing the board. Other buildings may continue with the attorney who originally represented the sponsor. The purpose of this blog post is to…
Our readers may be familiar with a cooperative apartment building located in Manhattan by the name of River House. This building is known not only for its distinctive classic architecture and regal location, but also by its stringent admissions standards for purchasers. It has been well known throughout the New…
A recent article in the New York Times discusses the issue of landlords making cash offers to “buy out” tenants of their rent regulated tenancies. Our firm has handled these situations, representing both landlords and tenants in different transactions regarding such buyouts. The reason behind such offers is the rent…
In a prior blog post , we described how annual cooperative shareholder meetings should be conducted. Now that the cooperative’s Board of Directors is properly elected and in place, the business of the cooperative should begin with the holding of a meeting of the Board and electing officers. This blog…
Memorial Day weekend is eagerly anticipated by many of our readers, especially this year after the harsh winter that we endured. Fortunate travelers expect to enjoy their vacation homes this weekend. As you head out for the weekend, we wish to remind you of certain legal issues pertaining to vacation…