Bill Morris

New Jersey

Managing and Online Editor at Habitat Magazine

Habitat builds, rehabs & preserves affordable owner occupied homes with families & community, provide opportunities for volunteers & operates a ReStore .

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Articles

Co-op board's licensing agreement raises legal questions

1 week ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

Q: I was considering buying a co-op on the Upper East Side with a private back yard that was included in the offering plan. The seller and I agreed on the price, but then the co-op board introduced a licensing agreement that imposed a monthly charge equal to 18 shares to use the yard — though the buyer would not get those shares. The board also imposed rules regarding how and when the back yard could be used. Potential buyers had to sign the agreement to be considered.
Uncertainty over tariffs and mortgage rates freezes New York real estate market

1 week ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

Buyers of New York City co-ops and condos are frozen on the sidelines, waiting to assess the economic fallout of President Trump's ever-evolving tariffs on imported goods. Meanwhile, with mortgage rates likely to rise, city rents remain at record high levels. For buyers and renters alike, it's a lose-lose scenario.
Organics recycling fines issued by NYC Sanitation Department

2 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

The brown bin has New Yorkers paying green and seeing red. Since mandatory recycling of organic waste went into effect citywide on April 1, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued nearly 2,000 tickets to building owners, including co-op and condo boards, who have failed to comply with the new law, Gothamist reports.
New York City's housing crisis worsened by climate change

2 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

There's a simple reason why New York City co-ops and condos remain so expensive and why rents are at all-time highs: the supply of housing units has historically failed to keep up with demand. Now a new force is getting ready to worsen the city's housing crisis. Climate change.
Green technology in New York: Geothermal power in Brooklyn

2 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

Even as the Trump administration tries to gut the clean-energy grants and tax breaks of the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, New Yorkers are embracing cutting-edge green technology. Two massive new buildings, both in Brooklyn, will be powered by geothermal energy, also known as ground-source heat pumps.
Manhattan luxury co-op and condo sales surge in Q1

3 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

Luxury co-op and condo sales in Manhattan rose nearly 30% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, while the average sale price of a luxury home grew 37% year-over-year to $10.3 million — the highest quarterly average on record, according to new report from Douglas Elliman. "Although sales surged by 28.8% annually to 2,560, they only surpassed the decade average for the first quarter by 1.1%," writes report author Jonathan Miller, an appraiser with Miller Samuel.
Understanding condo common charges and their discrepancies

3 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

Q: A one-bedroom condo apartment in Manhattan has an asking price of $399,000, needs significant renovation and has a $1,941 monthly common charge. Two other apartments in the building are also for sale; they're comparable in size, on a higher floor, have already been renovated, have asking prices of $620,000 or more — and yet have lower common charges of about $1,750. Why the discrepancy? And what goes into calculating common charges?
New York City co-op and condo boards to benefit from proposed solar tax credit

3 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

A likely revision to the state's solar tax credit could be a windfall for New York City co-op and condo boards struggling to pay for retrofits that will cut their buildings' carbon emissions and bring them in compliance with Local Law 97. Under the current law, City Limits reports, homeowners by 25% of the cost of their solar panel system, up to a maximum of $5,000.
Trump's move risks billions in NYC environmental funds

4 weeks ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

New Yorkers — including residents of co-ops and condos — could lose out on nearly $2 billion in promised federal grants for environmental and clean-energy projects if President Donald Trump continues to withhold payments from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, according to a report by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Crain's reports.
U.S. Treasury Exempts NYC Co-ops from Corporate Transparency Act

1 month ago | habitatmag.com | Bill Morris

At long last, New York City co-op and condo boards can stop worrying about the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an "interim final rule" that exempts U.S. companies and U.S. individuals from the law's required reporting of their beneficial ownership information.