Cooperatives and Condominiums

The lawyers of Finger & Finger maintain an active practice in the representation of cooperatives, condominiums, and homeowners associations. We represent approximately 50 cooperatives, condominiums, and homeowners’ associations. Including among our clients are Mitchell-Lama Cooperatives, FHA 213 Cooperatives, FHA 221(d)(3) Cooperatives, and converted cooperatives.

Our representation of such communities extends from formation of the entities, conversions, drafting of proprietary leases, declarations, by-laws, and other relevant document to legal representation in the daily governance of such communities by boards of directors and boards of managers. We offer a full range of services to our cooperative, condominium and homeowners association clients including not only general services but also collections, tax certiorari, litigation, collections, evictions, foreclosures, leases, refinance closings, transfer agent services, application services, labor matters, violations, and the like. The longevity of our representation of each of our clients is a testament to the value and effectiveness of our representation.

The general representation of such communities includes the following items that cooperative, condominium, and homeowners associations will recognize as particularly valuable:

Legal Opinions: as to by-laws, house rules, declarations, proprietary leases, shareholder issues, unit owners issues, contractor issues, vendor issues, offering plans, and the like.
Contracts: drafting, review, and negotiation of all contracts with outside vendors.
Correspondences: to vendors, shareholders, unit owners, and other third parties.
Board Meetings: attendance at board meetings to provide legal opinions, updates and consultation.
Annual Meetings: conducting annual meetings in accordance with by-laws.
Special Meetings: attendance at and conducting of annual meetings
Amendments: proactive proposal of amendments to house rules and by-laws and review of proposed amendments to house rules and by-laws.
Updates: proactive updates of pending statutory and regulatory matters as well as recommended policies for adoption by boards.
Consultation: discussion with board and/or managing agent of issues on an ad hoc basis including labor, collection, shareholder, unit owner, application, or other matters.

The breadth of our experience in representing many different types of cooperatives, condominiums, and homeowners associations, together with the variety of subsidiary areas of law in which we regularly practice, permits us a unique and singularly effective perspective for the representation of such communities.

The principal attorneys of our firm also write articles for many legal publications. We have written for Impact, the monthly newspaper of the Building and Realty Institute of Westchester County, and have been interviewed and quoted by Habitat Magazine. Our lawyers have also spoken at seminars and lectures in matters involving housing co-ops, condominiums, homeowners associations, landlord’s rights, and landlord-tenant matters.

Our work in this field has been recognized not only through our articles which have been published in Habitat Magazine and Impact, but we have been quoted by the Courts in cases dealing with cooperative and condominium issues.

Finger & Finger has also been retained by the Building and Realty Institute of Westchester and the Mid-Hudson Region to represent the interests of cooperatives, condominiums, and homeowners associations with reference to proposed county and state legislation.