Closings glossary
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 underlying mortgage.
What does co-op maintenance cover?
Quick Answer
The full definition
The monthly charge a co-op levies on each shareholder, covering building operations plus that shareholder's share of real estate taxes and the underlying mortgage.
Which related terms should you know?
These are the terms that come up alongside maintenance (co-op) in the same file.
- Common charges
- The recurring charge a condominium levies on each unit for building operations and reserves. Real estate taxes are billed to the unit directly and are not part of the figure.
- 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 disclosed in the managing agent's closing letter.
- 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.
- Proprietary lease
- The occupancy lease a co-op corporation grants a shareholder for a specific unit. It is assigned at closing together with the stock certificate for the allocated shares, and its amendments, rather than the original text, carry the building's current rules.
- Co-op lien search
- The search performed on a co-op purchase covering UCC filings, judgments, liens and unpaid building charges tied to the shares and to the selling shareholder. It supports no policy of insurance, so the protection comes from clearing what it reports before the closing rather than from insuring around it.
Where does maintenance (co-op) come up in a New York City closing?
A Forest Hills co-op charges $1,450 a month, and roughly 40 percent of it reflects the shareholder's share of taxes and underlying mortgage interest.
What else should you read before closing?
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 an income cap on purchasers and a flip tax that runs to ...
- Mitchell-Lama co-opA limited-equity cooperative in the State and City Mitchell-Lama program, sold from a waiting list at a formula price rather than on the open market.
- CondopA building split into two condominium units, one commercial and one residential, where the residential unit is owned by a cooperative corporation.
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