Daisy Desk – When should the board call their lawyer?

Condo law expert Eric Wohl shares essential tips for effective board management in this must-watch interview. With 20+ years of experience, Eric emphasizes crucial legal consultation timing, addressing post-COVID challenges in urban living, and building strong communities. Learn how to avoid costly mistakes, update condo policies, and create harmonious living environments. Perfect for both new and experienced condo board members seeking to improve their governance skills.
Key takeaways:
Consult lawyers before major decisions
Adapt policies for post-COVID condo life
Foster community within your building
Prevent issues through proactive management

Daisy is a full-service, customer-centric condo & co-op management company. Boards govern easily, neighbors live better, and home feels like home.

#CondoLaw #BoardManagement #UrbanLiving #LegalAdvice #Propertymanagement #condomanagement #NYCRealEstate

[00:00] Hi, welcome to Daisy Desk. I’m Rachel, and today we have our guest, Eric Wohl, who specializes in condo and co-op law. He’s been practicing for over 20 years, and we’re really excited to ask you some questions today.
[00:13] Great, look forward to it.
[00:15] So why did you decide to become a co-op lawyer?
[00:17] My father was a lawyer. In the city, when I was a kid, I started doing summer internships with real estate law firms. In co-op condo law, I remember the first month I was there, there was an annual meeting, and the partner took me to the meeting.
[00:35] And right away, there was 50 people there, and then there was the board, and there was so much happening. I’m like, that’s cool. I can get into that.
[00:42] So what’s the most rewarding part of your job?
[00:45] What I like about my job is that I get to meet with these boards who are volunteers, right? They don’t want to be doing this a lot of times, and I get it. It’s a lot.
[00:58] But being able to make their lives easier and to help them have a place where they live, which can be very emotional for a lot of people, and to help them and to have a successful building, have a successful board. If I’m able to just help people a little bit, make their lives a little bit easier, I think that’s great.
[01:20] That’s a good answer. If you had one piece of advice for boards, what would it be?
[01:26] The one phone call I hate is, Eric, we’ve made this decision. Should we have made that decision? You know, calling me after is the word. Because if you’re calling me after and asking me that question, you already know you did something wrong.
[01:45] So before you make that decision, before you send that letter out because you want to save legal fees, call me. Call your attorney. Ask your attorney. Make sure, because that’s always the biggest litigation, the worst case scenarios, the things that cost way too much money because you have to defend it now.
[2:06] If you’d made one phone call beforehand, you would have saved yourself a lot of heartache. Because again, you’re volunteers and now you’re dealing with the decision that you can’t undo. So call your lawyer first.
[02:19] Yes. Very important. Daisy. You can also call your property manager.
[02:24] How do you see the city changing in the future as far as condo and co-op law are concerned?
[02:21] The biggest change now, I’ve been practicing for about 20 years now. I think the biggest change happened in COVID that I can see, that everybody can see and smell and taste, in that everybody’s working from home.
[02:44] What’s home now? Home is, for a lot of people that live in co-op condos, it’s the thousand square feet. And guess what? You got a neighbor next to you and above you and below you also working from home.
[02:59] And so those interactions that people have now that used to just be between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. on the weekdays and on the weekends are now all day every day.
[03:11] So what do you think makes an amazing building?
[03:13] I think if there’s sort of a feeling of community, and I think that’s the best way to describe it, within a building and within a board. Those two things are separate things, really.
[03:25] But if you’re able to find that, I think those are the most successful, happiest buildings because everybody believes on some level that you’re acting in the best interest of the building.
[03:37] Thank you so much for sitting down with us today.
[03:40] Oh, I’m so happy we could do it.

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