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New Neighborhoods
By
Gary A. Poliakoff and Ryan Poliakoff

THE CONSUMER’S GUIDE TO CONDOMINIUM, CO-OP AND HOA LIVING

They say, “A man’s home is his castle.” For millions of Americans, that couldn’t be
further from the truth. In the United States alone over sixty million people live in shared
ownership communities (SOCs), more commonly known as condominiums, cooperatives
and homeowner’s associations. In addition, there are over two million volunteers who
serve on association boards and committees every year. However, very few of these
people realize the full extent of their rights and obligations as co-owners, or understand
the complexities of this increasingly common type of neighborhood.
Father and son team Gary and Ryan Poliakoff, both authorities on SOCs, have written
a new book that will guide owners and volunteers through the ins and outs of living in a
new neighborhood. New Neighborhoods: The Consumer’s Guide to Condominium, Co-
Op and HOA Living is the ultimate consumer’s handbook, detailing the most important
aspects of buying or living in an SOC and providing in-depth information on how to
effectively serve as a board member or volunteer. It uses humor, anecdotes and a
relaxed, conversational writing style to explain what has become a very difficult legal and
social minefield.
“I spent 37 years,” says Gary, “as an advocate for change in community association
laws and came to appreciate both the advantages of shared ownership as well as its
shortcomings. I also became acutely aware that many buyers lack a basic understanding
of what the rights and responsibilities of shared ownership are all about, as well as the
nature and extent of the conditions and restrictions owners agree to abide by when they
purchase their home. Without this knowledge, shared ownership can have a controlling
influence on buyers’ lives and can negatively affect their overall happiness as owners.”
Realizing this problem, Gary and Ryan wrote New Neighborhoods as a
conversational, non-legal primer for owners in any type of shared ownership community.
The book guides readers through choosing their home and explains:

• Owners’ rights and responsibilities

• How to determine if an SOC is right for you
• How associations operate, collect money and hold meetings and elections
• The covenants, conditions and restrictions which govern a SOC
• Some of the crazy rules and regulations that have arisen around the country and
how to know when to follow them

Together, Gary and Ryan combine unmatched expertise with practical, real-world
experience, creating a uniquely entertaining consumer’s guide that readers will want to
keep as a permanent reference.

Gary A. Poliakoff, J.D., one of the world’s foremost authorities on community

association law and shared ownership communities, is a practitioner, professor, and
newspaper columnist, as well as the author of a nationally published treatise, The
Law of Condominium Operations. Gary was named the 2008 Adjunct Professor of
the Year for Teaching Doctrinal Courses at Nova Southeastern University School of
Law.

Ryan Poliakoff, a former lawyer and current writer, is the inaugural president of
The Ocean Palms, a $100 million condominium property in South Florida. He
earned both his B.S. in Communications and a Juris Doctor degree from Cornell
University.

Website: www.newneighborhoodspublishing.com

New Neighborhoods will be released on August 1, 2009 and will be available for
purchase from all major booksellers. It will also be available in Sony and Amazon
Kindle e-book formats.

REVIEW COPIES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST