Co-op ownership implies owning shares in a company that
owns the building. This form of ownership has both advantages
and drawbacks (see notes below).
The following are the co-op buildings we've surveyed.
At present, this list is far from comprehensive - in fact, a very large proportion of buildings in Manhattan belongs to this category.
new! The Toulaine
(130 West 67th Street, Upper West Side) {1 available apt} A 1970's high-rise tower with two lower height wings. Red brick; large windows.
Buying a co-op is different from buying a condo in several respects:
Technically, you don't own your apartment, you own shares in the building.
The number of shares is usually determined by square footage.
Most buildings are older. Coops started appearing in New York
early in the 20th century. Condo buildings came later. In fact,
most pre-war buildings in Manhattan are co-ops.
Most co-op apartments are cheaper than comparable condos.
On the other hand, maintenance fees tend to be higher than
in comparable condo buildings.
There are tax differences as well.
Most things (starting with getting admitted into the building)
require board approval.
Co-ops tend to be much restrictive with allowing
renovations, especially those that are
considered disruptive to neighbors.
For the same reason, renting out your co-op apartment may be difficult.
It all depends on the co-op board.
Financing a co-op purchase can be more difficult (or, in some cases,
even impossible).
The most prestigeous (and restrictive) buildings have been known
to require the full purchase price upfront, without possibility of getting a mortgage (This may seem a little extreme, but the thinking of those boards, apparently, is that if you can't afford paying in cash, you can't afford being their neighbor).
Other boards may be more understanding but still require a significant downpayment.
The boards themselves range from reasonable to eccentric. While the
reasonable variety is more common, horror stories abound, too -
from applicants having to supply 1,000+ page tomes of documentation and
countless "character references" to board interviews conducted in French.
(Presumably, in the last case, non-French-speaking applicants were deemed to be of insufficiently good character to qualify as neighbors).
As you might imagine, all these factors can complicate the sale of your
co-op apartment, should you decide to eventually sell it. Some buildings
with exceptionally demanding boards have been known to have apartments
on the market for several years.
Renting in a co-op is also a possibility, but depending on how the building functions, you may have to be approved by the co-op board first, which may be quite a process. Again, it all depends on the board!
If all this sounds like too much trouble, your options are:
buying/renting a condo or
finding a good apartment in a
rental building.
{1 available apt}
