The Co-Op Bible » (REV)

Sylvia Shapiro, a lifelong New Yorker, is a lawyer and board president of a major Manhattan apartment building.

A user-friendly guide to the art of living in a co-op and condo

Sylvia Shapiro, a lawyer and board president of a major Manhattan apartment building, has written what will become required reading for anyone buying or selling an apartment, or curious about entering the fray of the co-op and condo market. Shapiro answers all the questions apartment dwellers are afraid of asking the board, broker, lawyer, or accountant-and she does so without talking down or a steep hourly fee. Included are such topics as: Is the building right for you? How can you make the approval process go as smoothly as possible? What should you do if the board rejects you? And what if you get in? Can you keep your dog? How much power does the board really have?

Having lived in her building for more than a decade in blissful ignorance of how it was run, Shapiro awoke one morning to discover that her building was going co-op, and she intended to buy. Intent on protecting her investment, she took on the mantle of board president and set about figuring out how the system worked. Seven years and many trials by fire later, Shapiro presents her hard-earned knowledge in this neat little tome. Apartment dwellers will come to swear by it.

Introduction
Acknowledgments
1: Getting Ready for the Hunt
2: Arming Yourself with the Financial Facts
3: Penetrating the Front Lines--Capturing Board Approval
4: Dealing with Rejection: Fight or Flight?
5: Decor or Decorum--Renovating, Repair, and Regulation
6: The Ruling Class--The Power, the Glory (and the Limits)
7: Power to the People
8: Government in Action
9: Everyday Skirmishes
10: Boarder Wars
11: High Crimes and Misdemeanors
12: Filing Out
Conclusion
Having the Last Laugh
Index