Building types in Manhattan
Townhouse condo declarations in Manhattan
A Manhattan townhouse split into two or three condominium units has a homemade declaration, no management and no reserve, and the neighbors are the board.
What is different about buying a townhouse condo unit in Manhattan?
Quick Answer
A Manhattan townhouse split into two or three condominium units is a condominium in law and a shared house in practice. There is no managing agent, no staff and usually no reserve. The declaration was drafted for that one building, and its allocation of the roof, the garden and the facade is the whole governance.
Which condominiums of this kind are actually in Manhattan?
- Brownstone and rowhouse conversions in Harlem, Hamilton Heights and the Village, split into two or three units
- Buildings where an owner converted rather than sold whole, keeping one unit
- Declarations drafted for a single property rather than adapted from a standard form
- Properties where the facade is landmarked and the maintenance obligation is shared between two owners
What changes about the waiver and the loan file in Manhattan?
- Lenders apply their own rules to two- and three-unit condominiums, and some will not lend where one owner holds more than a set share
- There is no board package and no right of first refusal in many of these declarations, because there is no functioning board
- A building with no reserve means any capital repair is funded by a call on two or three owners at the time it happens
- Insurance is frequently arranged unit by unit rather than by a condominium master policy, and the gap between them matters
Which taxes and recording steps apply in Manhattan?
- Mortgage recording tax applies to the recorded mortgage, and the deed and mortgage record with the City Register through ACRIS
- The declaration and by-laws are recorded documents, so they can be pulled and read before an offer
- 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 many Manhattan townhouse unit sales given the borough’s price distribution
What pattern does a purchaser meet in Manhattan?
- Read the declaration’s limited common element allocation: roof access, garden use, stoop and cellar are the recurring disputes
- Facade obligations on a landmarked block are shared, and one owner’s refusal to fund is a real problem with two owners and no reserve
- Where the converting owner kept a unit, that owner drafted the declaration and it is worth reading with that in mind
- A cellar or garden unit with separate entry raises certificate of occupancy questions about the number of lawful dwelling units
Who runs a two-unit Manhattan townhouse condo?
The two owners. There is no managing agent and usually no meaningful board, so decisions about the roof, the facade and the boiler are made by agreement or not at all. The declaration and by-laws are the only mechanism when the owners disagree, which is why reading them matters more here than in a large building.
What is a limited common element in a townhouse condominium?
Part of the common property reserved for the exclusive use of one unit: a roof deck, a rear garden, a storage area. The declaration says which elements are limited, to which unit, and who pays to maintain them. Where it is silent or ambiguous, the two owners have a dispute with no tie-breaker.
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...
- EasementA right to use part of another owner's property for a specific purpose. Easements appear as exceptions on a title report and generally survive a sa...
- 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...
- Offering planThe sponsor's filed disclosure document for a co-op or condominium, carrying its budget, share or common interest allocation, building rules and sp...
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...
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 ...
- Mixed-use condo with commercial unitsA condominium holding both residential and commercial units, where the declaration allocates common charges, voting rights and use restrictions bet...
This building type, borough by borough
- Townhouse condo declarations in BrooklynBrooklyn produces more two- and three-unit condominium declarations than anywhere else in the city, because the brownstone stock lends itself to th...
- 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...
- Standard condos in ManhattanIn Manhattan the condominium is the minority structure, which is why condos there carry a price premium over comparable co-ops and why the approval...
- Converted building condos in ManhattanManhattan conversions include the loft buildings of SoHo, NoHo and Tribeca, where legalization history and the certificate of occupancy are the liv...
- HDFC co-ops in ManhattanManhattan’s HDFC stock came out of the City taking title to abandoned buildings north of 96th Street and on the Lower East Side, then selling them ...
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Legal Disclaimer: This page is general information about New York practice. It is not legal advice, it does not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.