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What happens when a neighbor decides the person living below her is the enemy? In this episode, Emanuela Lupu, partner at Smith Buss and Jacobs, speaks about a case that unfolded over years — one involving hallway confrontations, elevator ambushes, and a dog weaponized on the sidewalk. It's a story that reveals just how much a board needs to get right long before a lawyer ever gets involved, and how one early misstep can force everyone to keep living with the problem longer than they should. Lupu also walks through a separate case with a twist ending that left a co-op holding a bill they thought they'd earned the right to collect. Habitat's Emily Myers conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!

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Being a co-op board member comes with real legal responsibility — and most people don't realize that until it's too late. In this episode, attorney Ben Flavin, partner at Braverman Greenspun, breaks down the two fiduciary duties every board member is legally bound by: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. Ben walks through exactly what diligence looks like when hiring contractors, why rejecting a sale based on price can land your board in court, and how conflicts of interest — from brokers to contractors sitting on the board — need to be handled. Habitat's Carol Ott conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!

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When a group of real estate investors decided to purchase a hundred sponsor-owned apartments spread across 28 different co-op and condo buildings — and close the entire deal in a single day — the legal challenges were unlike anything a typical real estate transaction demands. Andrew Freedland, partner at Herrick Feinstein, was the attorney who made it happen, and the lessons from that deal extend far beyond one extraordinary closing. In this episode, Freedland unpacks how large-scale sponsor transactions actually work, what boards can expect when ownership of unsold shares suddenly changes hands, and why the arrival of a new investor isn't necessarily bad news. Whether your building has one sponsor unit or fifty, understanding how these deals come together — and what they mean for everyone else in the building — is knowledge worth having. Habitat's Carol Ott conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!