Is it for power, prestige, a sense of duty, or a little of each? That’s the question you have to ask yourself before joining a NYC Co-op board. What are your motivations, are you doing this for status or purpose? Are you trying to ensure the building tenants best interests’ are first and forefront (including your own), or are you looking to exact a little pain in people’s lives? Too extreme.. maybe? However, in some cases that’s how simple of a matter this can be. Once you have answered that question¦honestly, then you can proceed. I can’t stress enough the importance of being honest with yourself. You don’t want to wake up one day questioning the results. Understand your motivations to better appreciate and accept your results.
Living and breathing.
A Co-op is a living, breathing corporation that owns the building. Co-op’s in New York City, Manhattan in particular, have gained a level of fame and notoriety in their own rite. The board members give life to the Co-op. Whether good or bad, the Co-op takes on the personalities, attitudes, and general perceptions of its board members.
What does the co-op board actually do?
The Co-op board actually runs the corporation/building. They handle all of the general maintenance, bookkeeping, renovation planning, and tenant disputes. The Co-op board is the steward of the building. Like every corporation, the co-op board is responsible for ensuring the financial soundness and successful operation of the building. We have all heard the stories of major building renovations that would up costing each tenant 100K in a single year. You have to make sure that the decisions you make are going to have a greater Return on Investment than your expected capital outflow to make those adjustments. Handling consistent, petty tenant disputes that can bring you back to your elementary school days. Anything and everything from noise complaints (yes, those do happen), pet issues (if your building allows), parking too close to the line, monopolizing the elevator, to general discord between two human beings. In a sense you are owner, manager, and janitor of all that is right and wrong with your little piece of heaven that you share with your fellow tenants. Your fellow Co-op owners will depend on you to be fair and apply the rules evenly to all parties. Co-ops were designed to protect the owners of the building from both a financial and residential peace of mind perspective. You are there to protect the sanctity of their homes.
Do you have what it takes?
Patience I think is first and foremost on my list of valuable traits for a Co-op board member. I think you have to greatly appreciate your role, and the importance you play in maintaining a peaceful and harmonious environment. Another important trait is you have to be a good mediator. You need to appear to be impartial at all times, even if in certain instances you have chosen a side. In the end, it’s a demanding job where you don’t get paid. You have chosen to volunteer for the greater good. Although your actions are directly ensuring the financial well-being of the building, not every issue that comes up is going to be of that magnitude. It will be the petty human interactions that went wrong along the way that will eat up most of your time. You need to own it, being a Co-op board member is a serious commitment that you need to choose. Once you have made that choice, it can be an amazing opportunity to lead and make an impact.
The secret hand shake.
Do we want you to join our Co-op, or do we think you will be a liability to the Co-op’s reputation? Do you fit in? Do you represent us well? That’s a pretty heavy stick to wield against potential buyers. It may be hard for some of us to keep out our personal feelings and biases when making those decisions. A good broker can help navigate buyers through these types of situations. TripleMint in particular has developed a reputation of guiding buyers and sellers through these types of issues. Don’t let a bad tie, or the wrong cologne cost you your dream home. Let a respected broker like TripleMint navigate those perilous waters for you. Otherwise, you could lose that dream home over something petty like facial hair.
If the co-op is not happy, then no one is happy.
What the Co-op wants the Co-op gets, but what about the board members? Yes, you do have the power. You have made it, and people have to ask you for permission to join your exclusive Co-op. You have the power, within reason, to deny access to potential buyers and even from stopping current members of the Co-op from selling if it’s perceived to be below market value. Yes, the ability to undo some horrible neighbors could be worth the black market value of a kidney, but do you really want to be entangled in that process? Most of us deal with office politics¦.but we get to leave them at the office. Well sort of, yes we are still expected to answer emails at night and on the weekends, but your home is meant to be your refuge. You think competing for a new account or promotion can be hairy at times, try comparing that to regulating the buying and selling of the units in your building. On the flip side though, some of us like the office politics. You thrive off of it. This is where that honesty piece comes in to play from earlier.
The truth.
We won’t publicly admit it, well most of us won’t, but people are curious. It’s fascinating to see how people live their lives, their successes and failures. Everyone wants to own a piece of Manhattan, even if it is only 300 square feet, you don’t get a parking space, and there is a board of your peers that tells you what you can and cannot do. Regardless, sign me up, I want to look through your tax returns and ask you why you don’t drive a hybrid. Don’t you care about the environment?
I love NYC.
