Habitat’s ‘Seeking Counsel’ Features Armstrong Teasdale Co-op, Condo Attorneys
Attorneys in Armstrong Teasdale’s Cooperative and Condominium Law practice were recently featured in Habitat magazine’s “Seeking Counsel” feature discussing some of the challenges often faced by boards of co-ops and condos.
Partner Howard Schechter discusses disputes over alterations to apartments and responsibilities for maintenance and repairs when an alteration leads to building damage. Schechter has more than 40 years of experience representing cooperatives, condominiums and other owners of residential and commercial property, including counsel on contentious issues such as apartment expansions, construction defects and alterations, to name a few.
Partner Julie Schechter’s broad real estate experience includes developing innovative approaches to deriving income from common area spaces and resolving disputes regarding construction defects and defaults by sponsors and other unit owners. In the Q&A, she discusses negotiating licensing agreements for co-op and condo boards, including common mistakes boards can make, issues with access to property, and ensuring responsibility for expenses related to neighboring construction are paid for by the neighboring property, as well as the importance of hiring counsel experienced in co-op and condo issues.
When it comes to turnover on entrenched co-op and condo boards, Partner Phyllis Weisberg addresses how to open up the nomination and election process to change perceptions from “us vs. them” to “we’re all in it together.” Weisberg’s four decades of experience focuses primarily on board representation, including handling governance issues, alterations, disputes between and among shareholders/unit owners, issues with neighboring buildings, construction and contract issues, and municipal matters.
Their Q&As, which appear in the November issue, can be read below.