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Management companies fully attend to the business of managing a community, thus alleviating a significant burden for a volunteer board that often has neither the time nor expertise to dedicate themselves to the role on a 24/7 basis. How can you tell a merely decent property management company from a positively great one?

Be sure to fully understand your governing documents – a condo’s by laws or a co-op’s proprietary lease/occupancy agreement – which dictate what requirements must be fulfilled to amend them, and subsequently, the house rules and regulations. These documents will set forth specific procedures to be followed such as the exact percentage (if any) of votes required to implement changes.

As a condo or co-op board member, one of your principal responsibilities is stewardship of the association’s finances. A lot of that boils down to one thing: the annual budget. Unfortunately, for many board members, “annual budget” is just another term for “big headache.” It doesn’t have to be that way. By staying aware of common budgeting pitfalls, you can make the creation of your annual budget less of a hassle – and ensure an entire year of minimal money woes while you’re at it.

Dan Wurtzel, President of First Service Residential’s New York office, was recently featured in Bisnow’s ‘Beyond the Bio’ series.

A board of directors in a cooperative or board of managers in a condominium can be a diverse group. That’s especially true in New York City, where residents are known for their diversity of opinions – and their willingness to share them. In a dysfunctional board, this can be a recipe for disaster. But if you place an emphasis on fostering the right dynamics among your board members, you can turn these varying opinions and personalities into an armory of strength. Let’s take a look at how you can make this happen.

Senior Vice President Steven Hirsch is quoted in this Habitat Magazine article discussing the rising expectations of building operations within New York City condominiums and cooperatives.

FirstService Residential is pleased to report that 265 properties in our management portfolio collectively received $981,639 in dividends by participating in Safety Group #561—the largest and most successful Workers’ Compensation Safety Group for real estate in New York State.

Marc Kotler, Senior Vice President of FirstService Residential's New Development Group, is quoted in The New York Times discussing the significance, and growing demand, of bicycle storage rooms in New York City residential buildings.

President Dan Wurtzel is quoted extensively in the July issue of Multi-Housing News discussing FirstService Residential's fifth year distributing Energy Report Cards to our clients.

Dan Wurtzel, president of FirstService Residential New York, is quoted in this New York Times article discussing preventative measures concerning package theft in residential buildings.

Leonor Vivona, associate vice president at FS Insurance Brokers, the in-house insurance brokerage for FirstService Residential, is quoted in this Habitat Magazine article discussing the significance of board-implemented protective measures for cyber security of NYC condos and coops.

Danielle Apartment Corporation, a 79-unit cooperative located at 140 West 71st Street in Manhattan, was burning heating oil #4, which New York City has mandated be phased-out by 2030. To comply with the city’s order to convert to cleaner fuels, and in an effort to reduce the building’s carbon footprint, lower fuel expenses, and better control heating distribution, the board reached out to FirstService Residential for guidance on determining if these goals would be achievable by converting their boilers to natural gas.

FirstService Residential associates are committed to making a difference, every day, for the residents in our care. One of our associates took this commitment to a remarkable extreme while heading to work at the onsite management office at 626 First Avenue on September 21, 2017. Arielle Bakoss is credited with saving a woman's life when a traffic light pole suddenly came crashing down.

In this guide, we will cover how co-op loans work, how to avoid unnecessary fees, and how to set your building up for long-term success.

No matter where you live, it is essential to thoroughly evaluate different property management companies to find the one that will be the right fit and provide the best service to your community. Every building will have its own needs, of course, but if you live in a New York City condo or co-op, you have unique challenges and specific services to consider.

FirstService Residential is thrilled to be a consulting partner on the development of My Micro to managing this unique property when it opens later this year.

President Dan Wurtzel is quoted in this Real Estate Weekly article discussing the importance of educating property managers and building operators to comply with New York City’s cooling tower regulations, ensuring resident safety. FirstService Residential is also credited with organizing initial training drawing over 400 guests.

The Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums (CNYC) is hosting its 35th annual Housing Conference at Baruch College in Manhattan on Sunday, November 15, 2015. Many FirstService Residential board members have found this to be a worthwhile educational event.

Who better to find out what’s happening on the ground than the largest residential property manager in New York?

In New York City, there are numerous safety regulations governing commercial buildings and hotels, but they do not apply to co-ops, condos, or other residential buildings.

Does your board and management team communicate to the renters in your community? If no, why not? In communities where renters makeup a significant portion of the residents, they are often overlooked by the people running the community.

Several important and timely presentations covering compliance, cyber risk and security were covered at our December Property Managers’ Meeting which was attended by more than 100 property managers.

Smoking bans in condo, co-op, and rental buildings, while still relatively rare, are becoming more commonplace. Is this something that your board might want to consider? It is not easy to implement, and you should discuss this with your building’s attorney before starting the process.

Three years into a four-year plan to phase out No. 6, barely more than half of the buildings that were burning it have switched to cleaner oil. And of those that have stopped using No. 6, hundreds have switched to No. 4, which though permitted for another 16 years, can be only slightly less noxious, depending on the supplier.