Marjorie Cohen

Co-op board interviews are harrowing enough--something like a Julliard audition that also tests your financial aptitude--without the board demanding an application for your dog or investigating the state of your current home. But sometimes special circumstances or scheduling conflicts necessitate these unconventional interviews. Herewith, tips on how to hit it out of the park when your board throws you a curveball.

For a couple of years now, New York City residents who rent out their apartments for less than 30 days have been violating a 2011 amendement to the city's multiple dwelling law. Recently, an ongoing dust-up between short-term apartment rental exchange Airbnb and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman--in which New York is demanding that Airbnb turn over data on their 225,000 users--has cast a further chill over the turn-your-apartment-into-a-cash-machine trend. So what about apartment swapping? Is it legal to swap apartments if no money changes hands? And if so, how does your landlord or board feel about it?

Although co-op and condo boards aren't obligated to, they'll usually tell you why your renovation plan as presented was a no-go. (It's probably one of these 10 reasons.) At this point, you have a few choices: Wait a few years for the board to turn over and then try again, hoping the new board is more liberal; remove the offending elements from your reno plan; or find a way to assuage the board's concerns. If you’d rather not wait around--and don't want to jettison a part of your reno plan that you're very attached to--here are some ways to win a do over.

While rental concessions are not nearly as ubiquitous as they once were (especially post-2008), now that it’s beginning to be a slower season (Nov-Feb) for rentals, we’re likely to see concessions popping up more often. For first-time and even veteran renters in New York, the concept of rental concessions may seem confusing. What does it mean when you’re offered a month’s free rent? What other concessions are possible? Why are they being offered? Is there a catch? And what’s the best way to find these deals?

If you’re thinking of buying an apartment in a building with commercial space, or if you’re on the board of one choosing a commercial tenant, you'll need to evaluate them in terms of nuisance factor, revenue potential if the building is a co-op (condos buildings generally don't retain ownership of commercial space), and curb appeal. “Although it’s a term used primarily for suburban real estate, ‘curb appeal’ does matter in New York City,” says real estate broker Ari Harkov of Halstead. Ideal commercial spaces look good from the outside and don't create a nuisance for residents in terms of noise, traffic or odors.

Here are 10 renovation issues that will probably make your NYC board sit up and take notice. Before you approach the board with any of them, be sure that they are (a) permissible, (b) possible, and (c) worth the trouble.