Teri Karush Rogers

Q. My co-op's basement was flooded during Hurricane Sandy and we had no heat or electricity for two weeks.   My husband and I checked into a hotel with our 3-month-old and 2-year-old.

Shouldn't we get a credit on our maintenance bill for the two weeks we couldn't live in our apartment? 

A.  Probably not, say our experts.

Q. I have not been able to get cold water out of my kitchen sink in over 9 years. The super has looked at it and does not know what to do. He does not think it is an issue. 

Others in my co-op building have the same problem but one is afraid to speak up and another was told there is nothing we can do. I have been told by the managing agent to use ice cubes, the former board president suggested I buy bottled water and another board member says it's not so bad.  

Q. My mom is in contract for a co-op in a neighborhood severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Her building had minimal damage and there was none to her unit, but real estate agents I have spoken to say the local real estate market is 'toxic' and could take several years to recover.

I am concerned that the property value has greatly decreased and what she negotiated on in September greatly changed when the storm hit.

Does she have any chance to renegotiate the price?

Q.  We recently bought a co-op apartment that was supposed to have two a/c-heating HVAC units, one on each end.  One end only had a regular a/c unit, so we bought a new one with heat for that side.

When it was time to install it, we discovered there were no heat pipes under the floor. The management and co-op board say it's our responsibility to replace them because a previous owner must have removed them.