Cary Sells NY

I’ve lived in Coops and Condos, I was a coop board president for almost 15 years and a condo board president for 5 years. What’s the difference anyhow? For most of us, not much but there are some fine points and legal distinctions that might make one preferable. In a condo you own your apartment, in a coop you own shares and have a lease on your apartment. Coops tend to be older buildings that were converted from rental apartments, many during the boom of the 1980s. Newer apartments are almost 100% condominiums, pre-wars are coops. Depending on your price range and the area you want to live in, you may not have much of a choice. In condo, you pay common charges, your own taxes, and usually are responsible for your own heat and electricity. In a coop, these charges are all rolled into the monthly maintenance. Unlike Condominiums, most coops have mortgages on the building - so you are effectively taking on a share of that in addition to any mortgage on your apartment. These mor...