raises and tips for piss-poor maintaince company

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

co-op shareholders as informed consumers

As a co-op shareholder/resident for over 20 years and prior board member i have noticed how we as shareholders have no way to check on prices and practices. We have no method of checking on the quality or problems with managing agents or contractors. We are totally relying on the honesty and competence of the in place managing agent and or managing company.
There are many ways to rip off a co-op, and as always, the more knowledge and the more people watching is the best defense. The recent disclosures of highly regarded and well known professionals and corporation board members being totally corrupt and totally inept shows all of us shareholders that the more we check, the less chance of our collective monies being misappropriated or stolen.
My hope is this blog and other web tools can be used as a consumer tool for shareholders.
i have searched the Internet and have found nothing devoted to this subject.

what to do when president of board withholds financial information

Scenario: Managing agent makes mistakes in following year’s budget, drops a zero and budget is off by almost 10 percent. The board also misses the mistake. The president who is up for reelection that year with his voting partner is informed of the mistake by the managing agent , but doesn’t let the other board members know about the mistake until a couple days before the annual meeting, the mistake must have come to light many months ago since it is now April , and this is now last years budget. . The president and his voting crony run unopposed and both are reelected at the annual meeting. After the election is completed, he informs the shareholders at the annual meeting of the mistake made in last year in the budget. Shareholders are unhappy and have a lot to say but annual meeting is moved to new business, no more discussion. My question, doesn’t the board president has the responsibility to let his fellow board members know of a budget problem of this magnitude, when it is discovered, not 6 months later, and since we as shareholders are per the bylaws supposed to be given a copy of the coming years budget and last years expenses, if a mistake was made shouldn’t the shareholders have also been informed when the mistake came to light, not after the elections. Wondering how the shareholder can act on this. IMO the election should be voided since important information was withheld from the shareholders. In addition, IMO the president did not act properly by withholding the fiduciary information from fellow board member and shareholders.

co-op board president is undisclosed business partner with managing company

have other co-0p's run into this problem, find out that the board president has been a undisclosed business partner with the owner of the managing company.
i have been wondering why he was always praising the managing company in spite in their proven incompetence.

encapsulating the roof for big $$$ vs yearly maintenance and inspection

i am wondering how many other co-ops owners are out there that are paying off assessments from roof encapsulating jobs.
What make this particular painful in our case is we have had the same managing company since the building went co-op over 25 years ago.
the roof is easily accessible by a stairway and a door , so it seems in over 25 years of paying this management company they never went up on the roof to inspect it and take care of the simple grouting and waterproofing every year.
instead they stick the shareholders with a huge assessment, that would have been easily avoided if they had simply done the job that they were paid to do .
IMO this is gross negligence on the part of the managing company .
anyone else getting hit with this ?

verizon fios installation bonus fees

i was wondering what other co-ops do with the money that Verizon gives them to wire an apartment building.
How many co-ops take this money and split it with the managing agent ?
as a consumer and a owner i see no reason to split the money with the managing agent, whom we are already paying. they seem to think we should spit it with them.