Manhattan Real Estate is unlike any other type of real estate in the USA. Here, you will find that New York City Real Estate consists mostly of Co-ops (Cooperatives) and Condos (Condominiums). There are more private homes in NYC which are considered Townhouses or Brownstones.

Types of Apartments Available in Manhattan, NY

Most of the Manhattan Apartments available for sale in New York City are cooperative buildings (as much as 80%). Only 20% of Manhattan Apartments are Condominiums.

Co-ops

Buying a Co-op is not the same as buying Real Property. Co-ops are Apartments that are owned not by the purchaser, but by an Apartment Corporation. Co-op buyers are shareholders of the property in the sense that they buy shares of a long-term Proprietary Lease from the Apartment Corporation. Shareholders pay a monthly maintenance fee to maintain the property.

Condos

A condominium apartment in Manhattan is real property, this means the buyer actually gets the deed to the property as though he or she were buying a house or other piece of property. The buyer is also responsible for property tax as well as a monthly common charges.

Steps to Buying a NYC Apartment

Condominium: In a condominium each individual apartment unit is owned privately. All owners share common ownership of common areas such as the lobby, hallways, laundry room, etc.

Cooperative: In a cooperative the building is owned by the corporation formed by the coop association. All apartment "owners" own shares in the corporation and are referred to as "proprietary lessees". The unit owner is allowed to sublet his apartment with board approval. The tenant will be required to submit an application package to the Board of Directors for their approval of the sublet. The Board can turn down an applicant for no apparent reason and the applicant nor the proprietary lessee has grounds to successfully challenge the Board's decision.