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Hi everybody, i am looking to buy a coop in WNY in Nj and wondering if any of you have any feedback on the appreciation? I was noticing that most coop units would be on the market for days and that most haven't had much appreciation in the past ten years. Would you consider a good investment or is it better to go with a condo in this area?
If you are looking for upside potential. Coops are not the way to go.
Benefits of coop is that its relatively stable, price wise during both boom and bust time compared to condo. Pro/Con is gatekeeping done by coop board on who can come into the coop. Con is potential buyers could be rejected. Pro is as resident, you know there is some baseline that's being met somewhere for ppl who live in the bldg.
thank you for responding. I was curious because in New York, where i live now, coop's appreciated very well and survived the financial crisis.. but i am realizing NJ is a completely different market where condo's seem to be the better investment. Do you agree? I am looking to purchase to live in the unit but i also want to make a good investment for the future..
thank you for responding. I was curious because in New York, where i live now, coop's appreciated very well and survived the financial crisis.. but i am realizing NJ is a completely different market where condo's seem to be the better investment. Do you agree? I am looking to purchase to live in the unit but i also want to make a good investment for the future..
Co-ops add risk, you lose control due to the arbitrary whims of the board, and you are not buying real estate at all, just shares in a corporation which leases the unit back to you. Their apparent low price is usually offset by maintenance charges necessary to maintain the building and pay the underlying mortgage. I would personally avoid co-operative housing in NJ and stick with condominiums, where you actually own the real estate and have far more control over its use and disposal. Judgment for condos.
The market in NJ, even in hot towns isn't quite like the market in NY. In most of NY (Manhattan and 'hip' areas of other boroughs at least) you would have to try hard to lose money. NJ real estate is a lot riskier. You have hot towns, which are already expensive and maybe they'll keep going up? They're good, but pricey, places to live - but you can't count on the value always going up. If you could find a future hot town and buy there, then you'd be golden. But you'd also be psychic.
That said, you're talking about a place to live as your primary residence, so investment value should really be secondary.
Also, there was a lot of market turmoil 10 years ago, a lot of places that aren't the super hot markets have only recently gotten back up to their prior heights.
thank you for your replies.. i have been looking at West New York (on Blvd E) and North Bergen around the park area.. do you find the higher end coop's there still risky? Seems like the area is developing alot by the waterfront and Zillow predicts a %6 increase in the next year but i am not sure how accurate that is.
thank you for your replies.. i have been looking at West New York (on Blvd E) and North Bergen around the park area.. do you find the higher end coop's there still risky? Seems like the area is developing alot by the waterfront and Zillow predicts a %6 increase in the next year but i am not sure how accurate that is.
Co-ops aren't risky because of where they are, they are risky because of what they are. With a condo apartment you are buying the apartment. With a co-op apartment you are buying shares in a corporation and leasing the apartment from that corporation. With a condo, no one can tell you who you can sell to, so there is better liquidity. With a co-op, you can find a perfectly good buyer for your unit and the board can reject them, often for unknown reasons. Co-ops have high maintenance fees, they have more rules, they are simply more trouble. And when Zillow estimates a 6% rise in real estate prices, they are talking about real estate. Co-ops are not real estate. They may or may not appreciate at all when the real estate market does.
I can't state this as a fact, but I can't remember seeing a new co-op being built in northern NJ in the past 25 years. They have fallen out of style and I would not predict a bright future for the NJ co-op market. Many co-op buildings have converted to condos.
I personally would never buy a co-op because I value freedom very highly. I am never going to buy something that I can't sell whenever I want to or need to. I am not going to put up with following rules created by the tyrannical fiefdom that most co-op boards become as the busy-bodies and malcontents seek out the openings while productive people are out actually living and working at life.
Not that everything about co-ops is bad. They can and are used to exclude people and keep the residents safe from the riff-raff. If that's your thing, co-ops might make sense.
if you were to buy again would you buy a coop in NY since there are so few condo's here or would you rather buy a condo in nj ?
ultimately, what is most important is where you want to live. i would buy a coop if it was the best location for me. but i would certainly check the area for condos and pay a little premium for it. im not sure what the premium should be.
i moved out of nyc because i hated living there. i wouldnt live in nyc if someone gave me a condo for free.
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