NWR: co-ops

---

Posted by sarahdavid

I do. I would recommend it over renting. There isn't much difference between a co-op and a condo. A co-op you own shares and not the actual space.

---

Are you still able to build equity? And are there a lotof rules, like can you paint and re do a kitchen for example, and whne we want to move can we rent it or is it easy to sell? Sorry for all the questions!

---

Posted by SoonToBeMrsR

Are you still able to build equity? And are there a lotof rules, like can you paint and re do a kitchen for example, and whne we want to move can we rent it or is it easy to sell? Sorry for all the questions!

---

we do have an equity line against the co-op. they aren't that many rules but there are more then a condo would have. most co-ops dont allows dogs also. FH re-did the kitchen, bathroom, painted, and sanded the floors when he first moved in. after i moved in we got new closest doors and we'll be painting next month, they're not really though on that. for our co-op you have to live in it for 2 years before you can rent it out and in order to be allowed to live there you need to pass a meeting with a board first. it's not too bad but it all depends on the co-op, they're all different.

as far as what youre allowed to do in the co-op, it depends on the building. Most will allow you to do things bc you still own it, even if it is shares the apartment is still yours. You bought it and put money down on it and pay a monthly mortgage, and you can sell it or rent it out.

We actually gutted out almost the whole apartment and re-did it. We made major changes. The kitchen we basically ripped everything apart and took it out, got all new cabines, appliances, did the floors, we also placed everything differently bc didnt like the layout. My bedroom had 2 closets but we ripped up one of the closets and closed up the door part and just looks like a wall now, the reason why is bc its next to one of the bathrooms so we extended 1 of the bathrooms by going into the closet, so we also added a stand up shower along with a jacuzzi. For the 2nd bathroom it only had a toilet and sink, but it was big and had empty space so we also added a stand up shower in there. Also did the walls, gave it a smooth look first and then painted them and in living room and bedrooms its color not white.

The only rules we were told is that we had to have a certain percentage of the apartment with carpet so it doesnt make noise for ppl downstairs. For living room we did hard wood floors and have an area rug in the middle and then just have carpet in the bedrooms. Its not something they will come and check and say anything about. Oh and we also were told we had to wait 2 years until we can rent it out.

When it comes down to it, its the same thing as owning any other apartment. Just bc its shares it wont feel any different to you. Like someone else mentioned, co-op's cost less but maintenance is higher so sometimes if youre comparing prices on a co-op and condo, youre monthly payments can be about the same. I saw condo's that had a maintenance fee of 300 a month which is good, but alot of co-op's i saw were in the $600-1200 range so the maintenance fee on a co-op can add quite a bit to your monthly payment and be around the same you would pay for a condo that isnt that much more in price. Also something to keep in mind is that the maintenance fee can go up at anytime and often too. So if its high already when you buy it, just prepared that it can go up even higher in the future. When I moved into my apt about 4-5 years ago it was $500 a month for maintenance, and now its $798.

---

Posted by BeachLovers

FH does maintenance work in a co-op, every time a person leaves, they transform the unit back to it's original condition (down to the ugly green tiles) and then the new tenants immediately change things around! In his buildings you cannot sub-let, either you live in it or you give it up. The plus, when you leave you get your money back (not maintenance fees, just the initial payment which is between $10,000-$15,000). Also, in his, you HAVE to start out in a one bedroom for two years, then you get put on a waiting list for more bedrooms depending on the size of your family, if you don't have any children they won't give you more than a two-bedroom.

---

thats so weird I never heard of that. Most buildings just allow you to buy whatever you can afford and don't try to tell you how many br's you HAVE to get.

---

Posted by Espo22

---

Posted by BeachLovers

FH does maintenance work in a co-op, every time a person leaves, they transform the unit back to it's original condition (down to the ugly green tiles) and then the new tenants immediately change things around! In his buildings you cannot sub-let, either you live in it or you give it up. The plus, when you leave you get your money back (not maintenance fees, just the initial payment which is between $10,000-$15,000). Also, in his, you HAVE to start out in a one bedroom for two years, then you get put on a waiting list for more bedrooms depending on the size of your family, if you don't have any children they won't give you more than a two-bedroom.

---

thats so weird I never heard of that. Most buildings just allow you to buy whatever you can afford and don't try to tell you how many br's you HAVE to get.

---

is it a gov't subsidized co-op?

---

Posted by vicky1125

---

Posted by Espo22

---

Posted by BeachLovers

FH does maintenance work in a co-op, every time a person leaves, they transform the unit back to it's original condition (down to the ugly green tiles) and then the new tenants immediately change things around! In his buildings you cannot sub-let, either you live in it or you give it up. The plus, when you leave you get your money back (not maintenance fees, just the initial payment which is between $10,000-$15,000). Also, in his, you HAVE to start out in a one bedroom for two years, then you get put on a waiting list for more bedrooms depending on the size of your family, if you don't have any children they won't give you more than a two-bedroom.

---

thats so weird I never heard of that. Most buildings just allow you to buy whatever you can afford and don't try to tell you how many br's you HAVE to get.

---

is it a gov't subsidized co-op?

---

Nope, I don't think so, it's in Rockaway on the beach, they have like 10 buildings

---

Posted by BeachLovers

FH does maintenance work in a co-op, every time a person leaves, they transform the unit back to it's original condition (down to the ugly green tiles) and then the new tenants immediately change things around! In his buildings you cannot sub-let, either you live in it or you give it up. The plus, when you leave you get your money back (not maintenance fees, just the initial payment which is between $10,000-$15,000). Also, in his, you HAVE to start out in a one bedroom for two years, then you get put on a waiting list for more bedrooms depending on the size of your family, if you don't have any children they won't give you more than a two-bedroom.

---

thats so weird I never heard of that. Most buildings just allow you to buy whatever you can afford and don't try to tell you how many br's you HAVE to get.

---

is it a gov't subsidized co-op?

---

Nope, I don't think so, it's in Rockaway on the beach, they have like 10 buildings

---

that is not a traditional coop. You FH might be working for a sponsor and the building might be going co-op for the first time and that is why they are stripping down and putting people on wait list for certain types of apartments because they have been renters previously and now have option to buy.

You purchase the co-op of your choice (whether it be a one, two or three bedroom), and they do not strip it down because you are not buying it from a company, you are buying it from the previous owner and are paying whatever they are asking. When I sell, which i will be doing after the wedding, all profits are mine (minus a flip tax). You don't get only what your initial deposit was. I put $11,000 down 10 years ago when I bought my apartment for $54,000. It is now worth about $250,000 so I would be pissed to only get back my initial deposit. I also completely gutted and renovated every aspect of the place.

Also, maintenance is higher in a co-op than in a condo because it includes property tax. Condos have a common charge and then in addition you have to pay separate property taxes. So you add those together it would be similar to co-op maintenance.

I live in one.

The rules really depend on your management company.

Mine will let you paint without consent but any form of 'construction' that will make noise or replacing parts has to be done by a licensed and insured NYC contractor. My kitchen was done when I moved in. My bathroom I gutted, and the paperwork I had to do, you woulda thought I was merging 2 apartments into one...hahah

---

Posted by StacyJill2009

---

Posted by BeachLovers

FH does maintenance work in a co-op, every time a person leaves, they transform the unit back to it's original condition (down to the ugly green tiles) and then the new tenants immediately change things around! In his buildings you cannot sub-let, either you live in it or you give it up. The plus, when you leave you get your money back (not maintenance fees, just the initial payment which is between $10,000-$15,000). Also, in his, you HAVE to start out in a one bedroom for two years, then you get put on a waiting list for more bedrooms depending on the size of your family, if you don't have any children they won't give you more than a two-bedroom.

---

thats so weird I never heard of that. Most buildings just allow you to buy whatever you can afford and don't try to tell you how many br's you HAVE to get.

---

is it a gov't subsidized co-op?

---

Nope, I don't think so, it's in Rockaway on the beach, they have like 10 buildings

---

that is not a traditional coop. You FH might be working for a sponsor and the building might be going co-op for the first time and that is why they are stripping down and putting people on wait list for certain types of apartments because they have been renters previously and now have option to buy.

You purchase the co-op of your choice (whether it be a one, two or three bedroom), and they do not strip it down because you are not buying it from a company, you are buying it from the previous owner and are paying whatever they are asking. When I sell, which i will be doing after the wedding, all profits are mine (minus a flip tax). You don't get only what your initial deposit was. I put $11,000 down 10 years ago when I bought my apartment for $54,000. It is now worth about $250,000 so I would be pissed to only get back my initial deposit. I also completely gutted and renovated every aspect of the place.

Also, maintenance is higher in a co-op than in a condo because it includes property tax. Condos have a common charge and then in addition you have to pay separate property taxes. So you add those together it would be similar to co-op maintenance.

---

so very true, i would also be VERY pissed off if i only got my deposit back. I am selling my apt and have the closing next week. I am getting back more than the deposit. Well the way it works is whats left of the loan and paying the bank back for that, and then figuring out after closing costs and everything how much is left over and i get that amount.

that definitely is not a traditional co-op like you said. I would never pay a monthly mortgage and then when ready to sell would only get deposit back.

---

Posted by BeachLovers

I guess Dayton Towers is one of a kind then! It's been there for so many years. With them, you have to sell back to the management. Another town over is Breezy Point and that entire neighborhood is a co-op! With that you can buy and sell to whoever meets the criteria (which is amazingly stirct, i refer to it as a compound!). Life by the Beach!

---

yeah i never heard of that. With my building we sell it to whomever we want. I also saw tons of other co-ops before I bought this one and same thing. And even now when dh and i were looking this year we looked at alot of co-ops and it was the same thing, same rules as the one i am in now and you sell it to whomever you want

also its weird with just the deposit back thing. So if you put down lets say $25,000 on an apartment, and then live there for 5 years lets just say paying $1500 a month on the mortgage payments. You only get back the deposit? when you buy a place its yours and the money you are paying for a mortgage is towards you fully paying it off, the loan the bank gave you. So what happens with all the mortgage payments you made for lets say years? it doesnt go towards paying off the apartment? if you dont get any of that back when you sell it then where is it going? just curious. Like right now i am selling and the way it works is the price of the apartment, then they see how much you have paid so far, and the amount that is still left to be paid you dont get obviously

---

Posted by Espo22

---

Posted by BeachLovers

I guess Dayton Towers is one of a kind then! It's been there for so many years. With them, you have to sell back to the management. Another town over is Breezy Point and that entire neighborhood is a co-op! With that you can buy and sell to whoever meets the criteria (which is amazingly stirct, i refer to it as a compound!). Life by the Beach!

---

yeah i never heard of that. With my building we sell it to whomever we want. I also saw tons of other co-ops before I bought this one and same thing. And even now when dh and i were looking this year we looked at alot of co-ops and it was the same thing, same rules as the one i am in now and you sell it to whomever you want

also its weird with just the deposit back thing. So if you put down lets say $25,000 on an apartment, and then live there for 5 years lets just say paying $1500 a month on the mortgage payments. You only get back the deposit? when you buy a place its yours and the money you are paying for a mortgage is towards you fully paying it off, the loan the bank gave you. So what happens with all the mortgage payments you made for lets say years? it doesnt go towards paying off the apartment? if you dont get any of that back when you sell it then where is it going? just curious. Like right now i am selling and the way it works is the price of the apartment, then they see how much you have paid so far, and the amount that is still left to be paid you dont get obviously

---

No, wow, Dayton must be so different than I realized! The unit's are now around $20,000, they just started going up a couple of years ago, they used to be only like $10,000. You have to pay it in full before you move in so you get a small loan if you need to. Each month you pay your maintenance fees, around $500-900 (i'm not sure becauase costs are rising). That's it. When you move out, you have to sell back to the management and you get back your $20,000.

---

Posted by BeachLovers

---

Posted by Espo22

---

Posted by BeachLovers

I guess Dayton Towers is one of a kind then! It's been there for so many years. With them, you have to sell back to the management. Another town over is Breezy Point and that entire neighborhood is a co-op! With that you can buy and sell to whoever meets the criteria (which is amazingly stirct, i refer to it as a compound!). Life by the Beach!

---

yeah i never heard of that. With my building we sell it to whomever we want. I also saw tons of other co-ops before I bought this one and same thing. And even now when dh and i were looking this year we looked at alot of co-ops and it was the same thing, same rules as the one i am in now and you sell it to whomever you want

also its weird with just the deposit back thing. So if you put down lets say $25,000 on an apartment, and then live there for 5 years lets just say paying $1500 a month on the mortgage payments. You only get back the deposit? when you buy a place its yours and the money you are paying for a mortgage is towards you fully paying it off, the loan the bank gave you. So what happens with all the mortgage payments you made for lets say years? it doesnt go towards paying off the apartment? if you dont get any of that back when you sell it then where is it going? just curious. Like right now i am selling and the way it works is the price of the apartment, then they see how much you have paid so far, and the amount that is still left to be paid you dont get obviously

---

No, wow, Dayton must be so different than I realized! The unit's are now around $20,000, they just started going up a couple of years ago, they used to be only like $10,000. You have to pay it in full before you move in so you get a small loan if you need to. Each month you pay your maintenance fees, around $500-900 (i'm not sure becauase costs are rising). That's it. When you move out, you have to sell back to the management and you get back your $20,000.

---

20,000 wow that is so low, is it some type of housing plan or something. Yeah co-op's are priced the way regular apartments are priced many are in the $200k range, some are in the 100'sk range

---

Posted by BeachLovers

I always thought of that as a condo. Yeah, they are way cheap, hence the at least 2 year waiting list and the strict bedroom policy's. The kitchens are way tiny though, but there is a big pool per 2 or 3 buildings, it's litteraly off the beach! It's not a govt building or anything like that.

---

well the difference between condo's and co-ops isnt about the price. The real difference is co-ops you own shares in the building but you buy it and pay for it the way you would any place and then you can rent it out or sell it the same way. Condo's can be a bit more expensive though, alot of condo's we looked at were $300k and up, meanwhile most of the co-op's we saw were around $200's k range. Although i just had my apt appraised and closing is wednesday and its a co-op and selling price is $310k. The other difference is maintenance, co-op has higher maintenance and condo's have lower maintenance fee's. Ive seen some co-op's for lets say $95k-low 100'sk but they were bc it was a small apartment and not up to date and needed work so thats why.

something can't be right. Why would you lock your money up for years to have a place to live and then you get nothing back in return except your initial investment. You are better off renting and keeping your $20,000 in the bank earning interest. Sounds like a $20,000 security deposit.