Building types in Queens
Townhouse condo declarations in Queens
Queens two-family houses are frequently declared as condominiums, and the certificate of occupancy has to support the unit count the declaration creates.
What is different about buying a townhouse condo unit in Queens?
Quick Answer
In Queens the two-family house is the ordinary form, and declaring it a condominium is a common way to sell the halves separately. The recurring question is whether the certificate of occupancy actually supports the number of dwelling units the declaration creates, because many of these houses have altered cellars and attics.
Which condominiums of this kind are actually in Queens?
- Two-family houses across Astoria, Ridgewood, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Woodside declared as two-unit condominiums
- Attached and semi-attached rows in Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale split the same way
- Newer three-family buildings declared as condominiums at completion
- Houses where cellar or attic space has been finished and used in ways the certificate of occupancy does not describe
What changes about the waiver and the loan file in Queens?
- The certificate of occupancy has to support the declared unit count, and where it does not the lender will stop
- Illegal conversion history is a live risk in this stock, and an open Department of Buildings item or an OATH (formerly ECB) judgment follows the property
- Lenders apply their own two- and three-unit condominium rules, and a majority holding by one owner can be disqualifying
- There is usually no reserve, so capital repairs are funded by a call on the two owners at the time
Which taxes and recording steps apply in Queens?
- 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 should be pulled and compared against the certificate of occupancy 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 very few sales in this stock
What pattern does a purchaser meet in Queens?
- Compare the declaration, the certificate of occupancy and what is physically there, because in this stock the three do not always agree
- A finished cellar used as a third dwelling unit is an illegal conversion, and OATH penalties for it run against the property
- Driveway, garage and yard allocation between the two units is a recurring dispute, and the declaration should be explicit about it
- Historic district rules in Jackson Heights govern facade and window work that both owners have to fund
Can a Queens two-family house be a condominium?
Yes. A declaration can create two condominium units in a two-family house, and it is a common way to sell the halves separately. The condition is that the lawful use supports it: the certificate of occupancy has to show the dwelling units the declaration divides, or the structure is built on a false premise.
What is the risk of an illegal conversion in this stock?
A finished cellar or attic used as living space that the certificate of occupancy does not authorize. It draws Department of Buildings violations and OATH penalties that attach to the property, it can force the space to be removed, and it complicates both financing and resale for whoever owns the unit next.
What else should you read before closing on one of these?
In the glossary
- 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...
- OATH Hearings DivisionThe City tribunal, OATH (formerly ECB), that adjudicates summonses from most New York City enforcement agencies. Unpaid or defaulted summonses beco...
- ECB judgmentThe judgment entered on an unpaid or defaulted summons heard at OATH (formerly ECB). It is a collectible City debt tied to the respondent and to th...
- Violation (cited against the premises)An agency record that a condition at a property does not comply with a code or rule. It attaches to the premises and follows the property through a...
- 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 ...
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...
- What is an alteration agreement?An alteration agreement governs renovation in a NYC co-op or condo: plans, permits, insurance, deposits, work hours and liability. What buyers shou...
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.
- Investor and pied-a-terre condo purchaseA condominium bought to rent out or to keep as a second home, where sublet policy, entity ownership and non-resident tax questions drive the struct...
- 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 ...
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 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 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 QueensQueens condo stock concentrates in Long Island City, Astoria and Flushing, and the investor share of that stock is what shapes financing and buildi...
- Converted building condos in QueensQueens conversions center on the former factory and warehouse buildings of Long Island City, where zoning overlays sit alongside the legalization q...
- Standard co-ops in QueensQueens holds the city’s garden co-op belt: pre-war garden apartment complexes in Jackson Heights, Sunnyside and Forest Hills, several of them insid...
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