Closings glossary
Flip tax
A transfer fee charged by a co-op or, less often, a condominium when a unit changes hands. It is a creature of the building's governing documents, not a government tax.
What is a flip tax and who pays it?
Quick Answer
The full definition
A transfer fee charged by a co-op or, less often, a condominium when a unit changes hands. It is a creature of the building's governing documents, not a government tax.
Where does flip tax come up in a New York City closing?
A Park Slope co-op charges two percent of the sale price, and the contract shifts that flip tax to the buyer, adding roughly $17,000 at the closing.
What else should you read before closing?
In the glossary
- Transfer tax (RPTT and NYS)Taxes on the conveyance itself, one City and one State. Rates step up at higher prices, and who pays is set by custom and then confirmed by the con...
- Closing statementThe itemized accounting of every credit, debit and disbursement at a closing. Commercial deals use a HUD-1 or ALTA settlement statement; consumer m...
- Maintenance (co-op)The monthly charge a co-op levies on each shareholder, covering building operations plus that shareholder's share of real estate taxes and the unde...
- Assessment (co-op or condo)A charge levied by a co-op or condominium board beyond ordinary maintenance or common charges, typically to pay for a capital project. It is disclo...
- 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...
Building types
- Standard co-opThe ordinary New York City cooperative: you buy shares in a corporation and receive a proprietary lease to occupy a specific apartment.
- HDFC co-opAn affordable cooperative formed under Article XI of the Private Housing Finance Law, with income caps on purchasers and usually a restricted resal...
- Sponsor co-op unitAn unsold share allocation still held by the building’s original sponsor, sold under the offering plan rather than through the ordinary board process.
- Standard condoA New York City condominium unit: real property conveyed by deed, recorded in ACRIS, with an undivided interest in the common elements.
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