Building types in Brooklyn
Townhouse condo declarations in Brooklyn
Brooklyn produces more two- and three-unit condominium declarations than anywhere else in the city, because the brownstone stock lends itself to the split.
What is different about buying a townhouse condo unit in Brooklyn?
Quick Answer
Brooklyn produces more two- and three-unit condominium declarations than any other borough, because the brownstone and rowhouse stock splits naturally into duplex-over-garden or floor-through units. The result is a condominium with two or three owners, no staff, no reserve and a declaration written for that one house.
Which condominiums of this kind are actually in Brooklyn?
- Brownstone and limestone rowhouses across Park Slope, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights split into two or three units
- Garden duplex and floor-through configurations created by a converting owner rather than by a developer
- Newer three-family buildings declared as condominiums at completion
- Declarations drafted per property, frequently by the converting owner’s attorney
What changes about the waiver and the loan file in Brooklyn?
- Lender rules on two- and three-unit condominiums vary, and some decline where one owner holds a majority of the common interest
- No reserve means a roof or a boiler is funded by a call on two or three owners when it fails
- There is often no right of first refusal and no board package, because there is no functioning board to run one
- Insurance arrangements are inconsistent in this stock, and the gap between unit policies and any master policy is worth checking
Which taxes and recording steps apply in Brooklyn?
- Mortgage recording tax applies to the recorded mortgage, and the deed and mortgage record with the City Register through ACRIS
- The recorded declaration and by-laws can be pulled and read before an offer, which is the single most useful diligence step here
- New York State transfer tax and the New York City real property transfer tax apply on an ordinary resale
- The mansion tax is reached on part of this stock in the brownstone belt
What pattern does a purchaser meet in Brooklyn?
- Roof and garden allocation is the recurring Brooklyn dispute, because the garden unit and the upper duplex both believe they were promised something
- Landmarked districts add Landmarks review to facade, window and stoop work that two owners have to fund together
- Where the building was previously a two- or three-family house, the certificate of occupancy has to support the number of units declared
- A converting owner who kept a unit drafted the declaration, and the allocation of common interest tends to reflect that
Why does Brooklyn have so many townhouse condominiums?
Because the brownstone stock splits cleanly into a garden duplex and an upper unit, and declaring a condominium lets an owner sell part of the house while keeping the rest. The economics of that split are better in Brooklyn than almost anywhere, which is why the borough carries most of these declarations.
What happens when a two-unit Brooklyn condo needs a new roof?
The owners fund it between them, in the proportions the declaration sets, usually with no reserve to draw on. If one owner will not pay, the remedy is in the by-laws: a common charge lien and, ultimately, litigation. That is why the by-laws matter far more here than in a building with a managing agent.
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 ...
- CovenantA recorded promise or restriction that runs with the land and binds future owners. Restrictive covenants limit what the property may be used for or...
- Certificate of Occupancy (C of O)The Department of Buildings document that fixes a building's legal use and occupancy. Lenders and title companies read it to confirm the property c...
- LienA claim against property securing payment of a debt. Liens rank by priority, and closing normally means paying or releasing every one ahead of the ...
- SurveyA surveyor's drawing of the parcel, its improvements and any encroachments. Lenders on houses and townhouses generally require a current one or a s...
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...
- Who pays a co-op or condo assessment at closing?A NYC co-op or condo assessment is allocated by the contract of sale, not by custom. How installments and lump sums get split between seller and pu...
- 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.
Building types
- Townhouse and 1-4 family condo declarationA small building divided into condominium units, where outdoor space, party walls, multiple-dwelling registration and the certificate of occupancy ...
- Standard condoA New York City condominium unit: real property conveyed by deed, recorded in ACRIS, with an undivided interest in the common elements.
- 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 ...
- HDFC co-opAn affordable cooperative formed under Article XI of the Private Housing Finance Law, with an income cap on purchasers and a flip tax that runs to ...
This building type, borough by borough
- Townhouse condo declarations in ManhattanA Manhattan townhouse split into two or three condominium units has a homemade declaration, no management and no reserve, and the neighbors are the...
- Townhouse condo declarations in QueensQueens two-family houses are frequently declared as condominiums, and the certificate of occupancy has to support the unit count the declaration cr...
- Townhouse condo declarations on Staten IslandStaten Island holds more low-rise condominium units than any other borough, almost all of it planned townhouse communities where the association ow...
- 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...
- Converted building condos in BrooklynBrooklyn conversions run from DUMBO warehouse lofts to Bushwick factory buildings, and interim multiple dwelling history follows many of them.
- HDFC co-ops in BrooklynBrooklyn’s HDFC buildings sit in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Clinton Hill and Bushwick, and many of them are small enough that the board is ...
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