Hello! What kind of insurance are we supposed to have for a co-op? State Farm said the correct product is “CONDOMINIUM UNITOWNERS POLICY” but I just wanted to check. Thank you!
I live in a very pleasant and boring 1BR in Manhattanville, but I’m fascinated by the bizarre living situations people manage to find in NYC.
Rent-controlled apartment you somehow inherited. Converted storefront. Apartment inside a building that was clearly never supposed to be an apartment. Absurdly cheap place with an equally absurd catch. Weird landlord arrangement. Giant loft you pay nothing for because you moved in in 1986.
What’s your weird NYC apartment story?
I’m wondering if the tax will have an unintended consequence, out of towners selling their units and renting instead, thereby creating more competition for market-rate renters.
Say you have a $2M, 2 BR co-op assessed at $1M.
The 4% tax is $40,000; spread over 12 months it’s $3,333. Let’s call monthlies for a post-war unit described above at $3,500. Carrying costs are now $6,833.
You sell your pied-a-terre. Assume no taxes on the profit, as your profit will probably be less than $500k for two people. Your $2M in a conservative tax-free municipal fund will yield $80,000 per year, $6,667 a month.
The $6,667 plus the assumed monthlies of the former apartment ($3,500) adds up to over $10k a month, enough to rent a 2BR in a comparable “luxury rental” building with no ownership hassles.
Am I missing something here?
I'm looking at buying a 2BR in a roughly 150-unit NYC co-op and just got the latest two years of financials. I'm not very familiar with co-op finances, so I'm trying to figure out whether any of this is concerning before I sign the contract.
Key points:
The $13.5M interest-only mortgage worries me most. When it comes due in 2032, they’ll have to refinance it, possibly at a higher rate. I’m wondering why they chose interest-only instead of paying down the principal.
The building also went through Chapter 11 in 2009, which makes me more concerned about the debt. Am I overthinking this, or would these financials make you hesitate before buying?
Thanks!
Hi there,
I am shopping around for rates. Could you please share the best rates and where you got recently?
\* +700k condo
\* Credit score >750
\* Primary residence
\* Brooklyn, NY
Any info will help! Thank you 🙏🏻
Idk if sue is the right term. But I plan on sending the seller of my coop an invoice through small claims. I bought this unit April 2025 and there was a leak March 2025 and I wasn’t notified. Turns out the tub he installed wasn’t approved by the board and now I have to replace it to stop the leak. I looked at the contract and he stated there were no leaks for 12 months and all alterations were approved. Turns out both were lies. If anyone knows how this process would work or if it’s worthwhile please let me know thank you.
Who is responsible for replacing windows and window frames? The owner or the coop? Is it a mix of the two? Our Board president gave us a confusing answer (they are relatively new and we are switching management as well). The gist of what they said was that it ends up being a mix of the two unless its a building wide redo. Right now I don't think a building wide replacement is in the plan, but we desperately need ours replaced as we struggle with bugs and keeping warm/cool in the winter/summer.
Hi All!
We are selling an alcove studio in the upper eastside, 87th st and have had it on the market for ~8 months with zero offers.
Listed at $525K initially, now $479K.
Maintenance is $1,647. 8th floor, doorman/elevator building, oversized studio with separate sleeping alcove.
We’ve had interest/saves online but no offers.
We’re approaching the end of our listing agreement and are trying to determine whether the problem is:
• Price
• The building
• Maintenance (a bit high when I compare it)
• The apartment itself
• Photos/marketing
• The listing agent
• Or something we’re completely missing
If you were shopping for a NYC co-op in this price range, what would stop you from making an offer on this?
What’s a bit strange is a 7th floor unit in our building sold for about $520k last fall. A little more sunlight and maybe a better kitchen but not by much.
Hi all, this subreddit has been very helpful in the past and I'm hoping they can help me out now. Have an accepted offer in for a Brooklyn coop, they recently sent their financial documents, and a few things stood out to me:
The lender and lawyer seem to think all of this is on par for the course and means the coop board is being fiscally responsible. I just don't want to be in a position where we buy and then find out an year later we're paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars extra a month because they keep raising maintenance and levying major assessments. This is a place where the HOA is on the higher end for an apartment this size. Are there any questions I could ask that could give me a better sense of if this is a good investment or not?
Thanks all.
This isn't happening to me but I know this is going on in my building. Several years ago someone did a gut renovation of their apartment. Cracks showed up in the neighboring apartment. For some reason the owner of that apartment didn't do much besides tell the super. Super didn't do anything. I suspect it's because his job is to maintain the building, not do free work when someone causes damage. Now the victim is complaining to the board and it looks like the super is going to be forced to do the work which means the co-op is footing the bill for the materials.
Is this normal? I can understand that the victim didn't want to file an insurance claim but that's what insurance is for. Or is this a case of nobody can say with absolute certainty what caused the cracks?
I know of at least a few other instances in the building where something like this happened. In one, it was completely obvious someone was at fault and they agreed to pay out of pocket for repairs. Insurance and lawyers weren't necessary. In another instance, a shareholder denied responsibility and the super did the repairs as part of his job. And he was pissed. He felt he was doing free work.
What are your thoughts?
Hello! I'm going to buy a co-op in the next 12 months (I'm in a lease until then in the suburbs), and have been casually looking. An apartment in a good location just came on, but it needs a complete renovation (floors, kitchen, bath). It's a studio. Anyway, if I were to buy this now, is there a way to have someone project-manage this for me over the winter and then I can move in when it is done? I have a full time job here, and while I could pop in once a week, I won't be on-hand to fully manage a renovation like this. Would this be an interior designer or a contractor? Also, assuming medium-fancy finishes (LVP flooring, an IKEA-type kitchen, etc.) what would this probably cost me? THANK YOU!
I understand generally coop boards want to see really you have good consistent income and high assets, but for properties where the income limit is $48,000, I’m wondering who is the ideal candidate for this?
It seems like you lock yourself into a corner, no?
You are trying to prove you’ve made very low income for…. How many years?
But that you have a ton of savings (down payment closing costs and many months of maintenance)
And you have fabulous current income?
But you don’t…. Because the income limit is $48k?
For a unit like this, how do you prove you’re a good future financial candidate while proving you’re under the super low income limit?
Who is the ideal candidate for a place like this?
Would they spend the whole coop board interview process trying to prove they’re poor or trying to prove they’re suddenly very rich?
Thank you!!!
I've been in my co-op about a year and feel ready to renovate. I want to do one bathroom and kitchen and basically everything is a straight swap, no layout changes, so just new vanity, new kitchen cabinets, new tile, etc. My building runs a tight ship with strong insurance requirements so I'm starting to ask around both in my building and on here for good contractor recommendations! Design wise, I know what I want and nothing is super high end luxury or out of the ordinary, just want a good, quality job that will last and hopefully won't cost me an insane amount (though I do know it will be expensive) I'd love to hear about your recommendations or experiences and thank you in advance!
Its Large community (abt. 955 units) In A decent neighborhood, heat & hot water included in the low common charges (currently $550 a month) However, the Cooperative is currently trying to recover from an extremely corrupt board, where over 4 million (possibly more) has been stolen. A major investigation is currently in process, a management company has been appointed by the court (unsure if this is permanent) sadly the community is currently struggling with the need to replace a very old heating system. The city stepped in giving them a small loan to get the hot water & heat up and running. (Many Residents have been without these basic necessities for over 2 years now. ) I’ve heard talk that many are still without them~ what was installed were meant to only be a temporary fix, until the Co-op saves enough money to have the work permanently done. I live in an area where housing is hard to come by, yet many of these units have been sitting on the market for months. I’m disabled, soon to be divorced & single mom of 3 teenagers. My income is limited. I’m afraid that the common charges may increase substantially. Also afraid that maybe the corruption runs deeper than the board.
I’d like to add, I grew up in the complex from 1982-1999. It was a lovely place back then. The board members were honorable people ~ mostly elderly veterans with morals. Very sad that decent people are hard to come by these days.
Affordable housing like this is a rarity in my location. I’ve just been keeping my eye on the community in Facebook groups. Speculations have been made that the city may have purposely destroyed the cooperatives financials in order to have investors come in and turn them into more luxury living.. (gentrifying the neighborhood) which seems to be happening in other parts of the city. we are close to New York. Average Rents and home prices have tripled in just 2 years.
I have just enough money to purchase a unit. Bring in enough to cover up to $650 in common charges.. but worry that cost may increase much more.
Has anyone been in a similar situation with a cooperative? If so what was the outcome?
I am a relatively new first time co-op owner after renting so am unsure how a noise complaint is handled. The house rules don’t really state anything for this situation. There are the usual comments around quiet hours, 80% rug coverage, etc
I have an upstairs neighbor who is an incredibly heavy walker and sounds like there are no rugs. There are also sometimes seem to be at home workouts with a lot of jumping and occasionally loud thuds that would sound like dropping weights on the ground. This mostly does occur between reasonable hours (8-9 AM start, usually stops by 9 PM) but there have been the rare occasions where it sounds like she gets home from a trip around 1 AM and starts unpacking and the noise has woken me up, usually dissipating in about an hour. The noise is a daily issue. I do think she is an older woman who may just be unaware of her noise. The prior owner wouldn’t have been aware as my apartment sat vacant for several years.
What is the best way to handle this that would cause the least amount of fuss?
I don’t know between trying to leave a friendly note under her door (I have not personally met her before), emailing management (we are self managed and they try to avoid owners emailing the board directly), chatting with the super, or asking the doormen what the best course of action is. We are a 500+ unit co-op saw
Hello all,
We're a mid-60s retired couple seeking to move to NYC. We grew up there so it is returning "home" after 40 years away. A coop is not our first choice but that seems to be the majority of units in our price range in Manhattan. We were just left an inheritance that can add to our savings to pay cash for a unit up to $700,000. Our income is just social security and interest (say $90K/year) so it will be hard to make expense/income ratios.
Since we are paying cash, what type of savings do you think we'd need to get approved for an UES coop? (Which I notice have not appreciated much the last 10 years.)
Thanks for your advice.
Hoping to connect with someone that has dealt with the monitor requirement, how it relates to sales and administrative reviews. There is almost no information online and the language in the offering plan seems intentionally vague.
Hi Everybody! I’m interested in buying a co-op in nyc but I wanted some opinions regarding my specific situation. NYC has been my favorite place in the world and its been my lifelong dream to live and settle down there. I’ve been saving money for over 10 years and I can finally say that I’m at point where I would be able to buy in cash a co-op in nyc (obviously depending on the area/borough). I currently live in Puerto Rico and I would relocate to make nyc my forever home. I have $0 debt, even my car is paid in full. I don’t really worry about finding a job in nyc as I’ve worked in corporate america for over 10 years and there’s multiple jobs in my field over there. I also lived in hell’s kitchen for half a year for work so I’m well acquainted as to what Im getting myself into in terms of living in such a big city. Is this an achievable dream? Are co-ops open to people buying and moving from out of state?
Hi! I understand no legal advice is allowed here and I am not asking for any. I would however appreciate if anyone has a lawyer they could recommend who is well-versed in HDFC nuance relating to income threshold compliance for households close to the threshold. We would like to hire for a consultation to discuss our circumstances.
DM or comments appreciated! Thank you!