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I've been looking for condos in Queens (mainly Astoria and Forest Hills), however I didn't find anything that I really liked, yet.
I did notice that there are tons of more co-ops on the market than condos, and was wondering what the rest of you think about buying a condo or a coop?
I always preferred owning what you buy, and that's why I was looking at condos only. Buying shares in a coop just didn't rub me the right way. However, it seems there are a lot of nice coops I'm overlooking (perhaps mistakenly) -- which are even cheaper and nicer than some of the condos I've been looking at.
What does everyone else think about condo vs. coop? Which will grow in value faster, is one better than the other, etc?
I have struggled with the same dilemma for a long time. I finally decided to go for a co-op in Rockland County. I commute to the Manhattan every day, though. Here in Rockland, the price difference is huge. A 1 bed 1 bath co-op can go for $80k or so. A comparable condo will run you $160k to over $200k. I dont know much about Queens, though. The price gap will most likely be much smaller there. Im ok with dealing with house rules, by-laws, etc. I know some people prefer not to deal with that, and opt for the condo. In any case, in the neighborhood Im buying in, there are plenty of both, and it is a nice, desirable place to live. So, price was the final deciding factor for me. Good luck to you!
I've been looking for condos in Queens (mainly Astoria and Forest Hills), however I didn't find anything that I really liked, yet.
I did notice that there are tons of more co-ops on the market than condos, and was wondering what the rest of you think about buying a condo or a coop?
I always preferred owning what you buy, and that's why I was looking at condos only. Buying shares in a coop just didn't rub me the right way. However, it seems there are a lot of nice coops I'm overlooking (perhaps mistakenly) -- which are even cheaper and nicer than some of the condos I've been looking at.
What does everyone else think about condo vs. coop? Which will grow in value faster, is one better than the other, etc?
Thanks in advance!
I live in a co-op in Queens.
Buying shares might not rub you the right way, but honestly to me I think co-ops are the better investment because the co-op board entrusts that the building is properly managed and they screen the potential shareholder to see if they would blend well into the community. Kind of like a safety net, and an extra peace of mind knowing somebody is looking out for the best interests of the shareholders. I actually liked the fact that they took time to look at my credit report and interview me. I did not find it intrusive in the least, as I had nothing to hide. Of course there are co-op boards that are managed well and some that are not.
But here's a deeper question, in result to one of the questions you asked. Why are you even worried about it appreciating in value? Let's say you buy a co-op or condo, and then in 10 years it's worth 75% of what you paid for it...what would you do? What could you do about it? Are you planning to move in 5 years? Why not just rent anyway? If one is buying a home, aren't they planning to buy it to live in it forever? Sure things happen, such as a growing family, job relocation, etc. But why not wait until you get the family to buy? Or rent if you know your job has the potential to upend your life when they want? It's much less hassle to break a lease as opposed to finding a buyer.
The attitude comes off as everybody wants to become a mini Donald Trump by flipping apartments instead of buying for the right reasons, such as wanting to establish roots in a neighborhood they feel comfortable in. A house and a home are 2 different things. Somebody who says they want to buy a home has a totally different attitude than one who says they want to buy a house.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
The price jump in the areas I looked (for a similar condo/coop) is like 150K. So it is substantial!
As for the appreciation, I am not planning on moving in 5 years. Its just that I worked hard to save up for a down payment, and this would be my first purchase. The last thing I wanted to do was to buy in a place (condo or coop) that I would end up regretting. I'm getting married quite soon (time is flying!) and wanted to own instead of renting. Down the line (10+ years) I'd want to own a house -- but simply cannot afford it now.
I don't mind co-op boards and the screening at all -- or the rules. I think I don't really understand the coop market to begin with, and that's why I ask about appreciation. Condos are easy to understand, you own it, you can sell it for what you want. I don't understand why I see co-ops that are much better than the condos for so much cheaper. Is it because there are so many more coops on the market?
The good thing about buying a condo is that there are few rules and you can pretty much do what you want,sell to whoever you want and rent the unit out to whoever you want.
The bad thing about owning a condo is that your neighbors can pretty much do what they want,sell to whoever they want and rent out to whoever they want.
I lived in a condo once but when I bought, I bought a CO OP.I think there tends to be a better quality of life in buildings where it is owners who are overwhelming majority of residents.
The price jump in the areas I looked (for a similar condo/coop) is like 150K. So it is substantial!
As for the appreciation, I am not planning on moving in 5 years. Its just that I worked hard to save up for a down payment, and this would be my first purchase. The last thing I wanted to do was to buy in a place (condo or coop) that I would end up regretting. I'm getting married quite soon (time is flying!) and wanted to own instead of renting. Down the line (10+ years) I'd want to own a house -- but simply cannot afford it now.
I don't mind co-op boards and the screening at all -- or the rules. I think I don't really understand the coop market to begin with, and that's why I ask about appreciation. Condos are easy to understand, you own it, you can sell it for what you want. I don't understand why I see co-ops that are much better than the condos for so much cheaper. Is it because there are so many more coops on the market?
Thanks for the insights!
The maintenance in co-ops tend to be higher than condos...thats usually why the sale price for co-ops are cheaper. A lot of buildings that converted to co-ops, for example in Brooklyn Heights, have a high mortgage balance, or other financial issues like high property tax and that drives up the maintenance. Also, the corporation might not own the land that the building is on, they might be leasing it. So that drives up maintenance too.
__________________
"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
The price jump in the areas I looked (for a similar condo/coop) is like 150K. So it is substantial!
As for the appreciation, I am not planning on moving in 5 years. Its just that I worked hard to save up for a down payment, and this would be my first purchase. The last thing I wanted to do was to buy in a place (condo or coop) that I would end up regretting. I'm getting married quite soon (time is flying!) and wanted to own instead of renting. Down the line (10+ years) I'd want to own a house -- but simply cannot afford it now.
I don't mind co-op boards and the screening at all -- or the rules. I think I don't really understand the coop market to begin with, and that's why I ask about appreciation. Condos are easy to understand, you own it, you can sell it for what you want. I don't understand why I see co-ops that are much better than the condos for so much cheaper. Is it because there are so many more coops on the market?
Thanks for the insights!
One of the reasons why condos appear to be so much less than CO OPs is because there is no underlying mortgage on the building itself.So the price you pay for your condo is the full amount of your purchase price. With Co OPs you are also purchasing shares in a corporation that owns the building and the building usually has a mortgage on it . So you are paying the purchase price of the unit and you are also assuming the responsibility for a share of the underlying indebtedness of the corporation.
The amount of this "extra" debt can be figured out by dividing the total number of shares of the corporation into the amount of the underlying mortgage to get a per/share amount and then multiplying that number by the number of shares allocated to your apartment.A certain part of your apartment maintenance goes to pay the underling mortgage and then you get a tax deduction for that amount .It sounds confusing but really isn't.
All of this is why it is important to investigate the finances of co ops to make sure that any underlying mortgage is not totally out of line and doesn't have any weird terms.
The price jump in the areas I looked (for a similar condo/coop) is like 150K. So it is substantial!
As for the appreciation, I am not planning on moving in 5 years. Its just that I worked hard to save up for a down payment, and this would be my first purchase. The last thing I wanted to do was to buy in a place (condo or coop) that I would end up regretting. I'm getting married quite soon (time is flying!) and wanted to own instead of renting. Down the line (10+ years) I'd want to own a house -- but simply cannot afford it now.
I don't mind co-op boards and the screening at all -- or the rules. I think I don't really understand the coop market to begin with, and that's why I ask about appreciation. Condos are easy to understand, you own it, you can sell it for what you want. I don't understand why I see co-ops that are much better than the condos for so much cheaper. Is it because there are so many more coops on the market?
Sorry to break in. I've seen some condop units. What is that? Is it better than condo or coop?
There can't be a such thing as a cond-op unit. You can't own half of the apartment via shares and the other half physically.
You can have cond-op buildings however. Usually in cond-op buildings, the residential part of the building is comprised of co-op units and the commercial part (usually stores on the first floor) are condo units. The corporation usually buys the commercial spaces themselves, then leases them out to tenants.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
Last edited by SeventhFloor; 01-09-2011 at 08:12 PM..
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