Name: Katharine M. Finch
Title: Associate
Company Name: Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP
Follow my company on Twitter @WindelsMarx
What year did you start your career in commercial real estate: Mid 1990's
Real Estate Associations/Organizations: Real Estate Board of New York
What recent project or transaction are you most proud of?
I helped shareholders of a downtown cooperative obtain considerable tax relief due to the decaying condition of their building. The building's white-glazed brick façade, which was a popular design feature in the 50's and 60's, actually traps water behind the bricks which, after one too many freeze-and-thaw cycles causes the bricks to crack. The bricks were literally falling off the building so the board needed to act quickly which it did, including assessing each unit owner $100,000 on average to pay the $30 million renovation projection. Our Real Estate Tax Certiorari Practice Group was able to prove to the city that the building's property assessment was overvalued because it did not accurately reflect the buildings actual and financial health. Each unit owner was entitled to a refund for overpayment of property taxes. Knowing that some of the unit owners were living on fixed incomes, it's gratifying to know we helped even a little bit.
What is the best advice you have received and who was it from?
It's actually two but it's from the same source, my Dad, so I will roll it into one: Preform your job as if you owned the business, and never get complacent in your career.
List 3 women that you would like to have drinks / dinner with and where would you go?
Elizabeth Warren because she's ridiculously smart and I happen to agree with a lot of her views, Angelina Jolie because she's cool (she does a lot of good around the world when she could easily choose otherwise), and Kristen Wiig because she's hilarious. We would go to Club 55 and after a long, engaging dinner we'd dance on the tables.

Tags: