Building types in Manhattan
Standard condos in Manhattan
In Manhattan the condominium is the minority structure, which is why condos there carry a price premium over comparable co-ops and why the approval step is so light.
What is different about buying a standard condo in Manhattan?
Quick Answer
In Manhattan the condominium is the minority structure, because most of the apartment stock became cooperative long before condominiums were common. That scarcity is why Manhattan condos price above comparable co-ops, and why the approval step is a right of first refusal waiver rather than a board package.
Which condominiums of this kind are actually in Manhattan?
- A minority of the borough’s apartment stock, concentrated in buildings put up or converted from the late 1970s onward
- New construction along the Midtown corridors, in Chelsea, on the far West Side and through the Financial District
- Loft conversions in SoHo, NoHo and Tribeca that were declared as condominiums rather than cooperatives
- A stock that trades faster than the surrounding co-op market because the approval step is lighter
What changes about the waiver and the loan file in Manhattan?
- The board holds a right of first refusal it almost always waives, so the approval step is an application and a waiver rather than a package and an interview
- The purchaser takes a deed, so an owner’s title policy is issued and the searches are real-property searches rather than a co-op lien search
- The loan is a recorded mortgage, which brings the mortgage recording tax into the closing figures
- Warrantability matters: owner-occupancy ratios, sponsor holdings and commercial square footage all affect which lenders will write in the building
Which taxes and recording steps apply in Manhattan?
- Mortgage recording tax applies to the recorded mortgage, which is the largest structural difference from a co-op purchase at the same price
- The deed and the mortgage record with the City Register through ACRIS, and the recording is what the purchaser should see confirmed after closing
- New York State transfer tax and the New York City real property transfer tax apply on the seller’s side in an ordinary resale
- The mansion tax is reached on a very large share of Manhattan condo sales, again because of the price distribution rather than any borough rate
What pattern does a purchaser meet in Manhattan?
- Common charges plus real estate taxes are the right comparison against a co-op’s maintenance, because a co-op’s maintenance already contains its share of taxes
- The co-op and condo property tax abatement requires primary residence, so the pied-a-terre and investor share of Manhattan condo stock does not qualify
- Building amenity programs are funded through common charges, and a large amenity load is a permanent operating cost rather than a one-off
- A judgment search runs against New York County records, and a common surname produces more name hits to clear than elsewhere
Why do Manhattan condos cost more than comparable co-ops?
Scarcity and flexibility. Condominiums are a minority of Manhattan apartment stock, they can be bought by entities and non-residents, they can be rented without board permission in most buildings, and they clear a right of first refusal rather than a board. Buyers pay for that, and the market prices it in.
What does a Manhattan condo closing include that a co-op does not?
A deed, a recorded mortgage, a real-property title search and an owner’s title policy, plus the mortgage recording tax on the loan. A co-op closing has none of those: it transfers a stock certificate and a proprietary lease with a UCC filing as the lender’s security.
What else should you read before closing on one of these?
In the glossary
- Common chargesThe recurring charge a condominium levies on each unit for building operations and reserves. Real estate taxes are billed to the unit directly and ...
- Right of first refusalThe right to match an offer before a sale closes. In condominiums it is exercised or waived by the board, and the written waiver is delivered at cl...
- Mortgage recording taxThe New York tax due when a mortgage is recorded, computed on the new money secured. On a building with six or fewer apartments the lender pays 0.2...
- Owner's policyTitle insurance protecting the buyer's ownership interest, issued for the purchase price with a single premium. Coverage continues while the insure...
- ACRISNew York City's public index of recorded property documents for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, easemen...
Questions this raises
- What is the difference between common charges and maintenance?Condo common charges fund operations only, with taxes billed separately. Co-op maintenance bundles operations, property taxes and the underlying mo...
- Can a condo board block a sale in New York?A condo board holds a right of first refusal, not an approval right, so it rarely stops a sale. What it can do is delay one by withholding the waiver.
- What is a non-warrantable condo?A non-warrantable condo fails secondary market eligibility, so conventional financing is unavailable. What causes it and how buyers finance around it.
Building types
- Standard condoA New York City condominium unit: real property conveyed by deed, recorded in ACRIS, with an undivided interest in the common elements.
- New-development condoA first sale from the sponsor of a newly built condominium, governed by an offering plan, often delivered on a temporary certificate of occupancy.
- Condo in a converted buildingA condominium created by converting an existing rental building, where non-purchasing tenants, the reserve fund and building-wide conditions carry ...
- Standard co-opThe ordinary New York City cooperative: you buy shares in a corporation and receive a proprietary lease to occupy a specific apartment.
This building type, borough by borough
- Standard condos in BrooklynBrooklyn is where most of the city’s new condominium stock has been built, so tax abatements, first-year budgets and sponsor obligations dominate t...
- Standard condos in QueensQueens condo stock concentrates in Long Island City, Astoria and Flushing, and the investor share of that stock is what shapes financing and buildi...
- Standard condos in the BronxThe Bronx holds one of the largest condominium communities in the city alongside a newer wave of small buildings in Mott Haven and Port Morris.
- Standard condos on Staten IslandStaten Island condominiums are mostly attached townhouse communities, and the borough is the one place in the city where deeds are filed with the c...
- Standard co-ops in ManhattanManhattan is the borough where cooperatives still outnumber condominiums, so board practice, financing caps and post-closing liquidity requirements...
- New development condos in ManhattanA Manhattan new development purchase is governed by the sponsor’s offering plan, and the plan is written by the sponsor for the sponsor.
The statute itself
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