As monthly charges for co-op and condominiums continue to increase, many residents are exploring a cheaper alternative called self-management, in place of a super, according to the New York Times. A small percentage of buildings in New York City, most of them with only a handful of units, operate on this system, where residents are responsible for everything from taking out the trash to balancing the books and filing required forms with the Department of Buildings. The amount of money saved through this method can be as much as $750 a month, as is the case in a self-managed 12-unit prewar co-op in Park Slope, where two-bedroom apartments have sold recently for $589,000 and $575,000. As the economy struggles to recover, industry experts have noticed a growing interest in this “do-it-yourself” route. According to Rebecca Poole, the president of Real Estate Management Group, the three-part workshop that she teaches on self-management has started to attract representatives from buildings that are larger than the typical self-managed property. [NYT]

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Co-ops in the city have raised their maintenance charges by as much as
15 percent recently as a result of rising property taxes and operating costs.
John Janangelo, president of Bellmarc Property Management, said taxes
for some of the buildings the company manages have risen by 35 percent this year. “It comes
at the worst time,” Janangelo said, adding, “You don’t want to pass through
these huge increases because people can’t afford them, but you have no
choice.” Buildings whose property values have soared in recent years
are experiencing even bigger tax increases because the assessed values
of their buildings have gone up. David Kuperberg, president of Cooper
Square Realty, said the assessments have increased based on last year’s
market, and assessments often take a while to catch up to the current
market.