Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

DH and I are beginning to look for houses. Sometimes I think a condo might be better for us, as I am physically disabled, and DH is legally blind.

For those of you who live in a co-op/condo is it really worth it to pay maintenance on top of your mortgage? We know maintenance includes different amenities for different developments, but sometimes we think about spending all that money... and we could have a house with our own property.

I am so confused!

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

I don't live in one, but have rented in 2 and there are lots of ridiculous rules and things that cannot be bent.

I also know a lot of wackadoos IRL who are the people who sit on the boards of condos and this is their only way to feel powerful if you get my drift.

I got called a bully on here recently for pointing this out to someone who is having issues with their condo board now, when it was clear to me they probably didn't read/have their attorney read what they should have before moving in.

You also cannot pick your neighbors.

We had one guy who lived next to us that rented a condo who was a major drug addict and it was very scary the people he let come in and out of the place.

At least with a home, there is a little more privacy, a yard, trees, etc.

I also know PLENTY of people who are not disabled who will just hire a handyman if they need help with something around their house.

You would also be surprised the amount of able-bodied men and women on my block who have landscapers.

I also don't know too much about selling a condo, but I would imagine it may be slightly easier to sell a house, especially here on LI.

You can also always upgrade and do whatever the feck you want for the most part on your own property without having to get approval for it.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

For me personally I would prefer to live in a house.

Our co-op just put added an assessment so with that and the maintenance and the mortgage it adds up to paying a mortgage on a house. That being said it is temporary so it will go in monthly payments.

Other than that little issue co-op living isn't bad. I can't speak for condo's because I have never lived in one or know anyone who has.

I guess you just have to see what you and DH are comfortable with.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Lady, if he can do it, let him do it!

I don't have any physical limitations and I do not help DH with the snow removal or landscaping.






Look at both settings. Weigh the pros and cons.

Remember though, that if you moved into a condo/co-op, could it ultimately be a regret ;).

I know it's true for the most part, that everyone always has regrets I think with the choice of home they eventually settle on, because they don't see things in it initially that they will see down the road..........

but if you have a house, at least you are not as "stuck" kwim?

Disclaimer: I know that not everyone are "house" people and I am not putting down anyone's choice if they decided to purchase a condo/co-op.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

We live in a co-op, have for 5 years and havent had a single issue. For us, its worth it bc we dont spend our weekends doing yardwork or maintenance, it is all taken care of for us. For our monthly maintenance, a very small portion of it actually goes to physical property maintenance. the bulk of it pays for water, heat, and taxes, all bills you would have and money you would be spending in a single family home anyway. We like this lifestyle and when we do sell, we plan on just purchasing a townhouse for the same reasons.

As for "ridiculous" rules - we dont have any that are just there for fun.....I dont find any of them ridiculous or unreasonable, they are all in place to keep it a pleasant living environment for everyone and to keep the grounds neat and orderly.

Oh and also, we have virtually renovated our entire co-op and we dont need approval from a board to do so. As long as you arent making any structural changes to your unit, its yours to do with as you please. I personally have no problem with the get approval to make structural changes rule bc if someone next door wants to change something, id prefer someone check that they arent removing a support wall and compromising the rest of our homes. Another bonus, aside from just the outdoors, you arent responsible for any heating systems, water heaters, pipes, roofs, windows.....any issues with anything from behind the sheetrock is their issue to fix and not ours.

Message edited 6/12/2011 1:58:26 PM.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

We live in a house but the idea of a condo or townhouse is still very appealing to us. It'd be nice to not have to spend so much time doing yardwork and worrying about fixing every little thing that goes in the house. If we were to do it over again we'd probably do the condo or townhouse route. But, like pp said, you really need to look at the pros and cons to each and decide what is best for you.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

We just moved from a house to a condo and back to a house (long story). I was dead set on an apartment bc I didn't want to deal with the maintenance of my house. But then I got a complaint about my dog barking, learned that we had to turn the surround sound off after 10, couldn't do laundry after 930, etc etc. I understand why those rules are in place but I didn't like being told what to do. There are def pros and cons to both

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

You have to really look into the condo board and try to speak to some people living in the area to get a total feel of the regulations.

We own a condo and honestly it was the best move for us. Yes there are regulations but nothing too crazy, mostly just about the exterior of the condo (all doors need to be the same color, windows have to have a certain number of frames). Everything else is pretty much like I was in a house and I have owned both.

The plus of our condo is that all the snow is shoveled, the grass is taken care of, they have a maintaince team on staff that only charge $35 an hour to fix simple things, like hanging a door or putting up a cieling fan. We also have a golf course, a huge pool, a bowling alley, a snack bar during the summer, volley ball and tennis courts. For us it is well worth the money we pay for maintenance.

I will say that we are lucky that we have a corner unit so we only have one neighbor and he is never home so we don't really have to deal with those types of issues.

Condos aren't for everyone, I just wouldn't cross it off your list before thoroughly researching it.

Good luck! : )

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Thanks everyone, we keep flip flopping, so when the time comes I think we'll look at both and decide.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Posted by KartveliT

Posted by memi7206

We live in a co-op, have for 5 years and havent had a single issue. For us, its worth it bc we dont spend our weekends doing yardwork or maintenance, it is all taken care of for us. For our monthly maintenance, a very small portion of it actually goes to physical property maintenance. the bulk of it pays for water, heat, and taxes, all bills you would have and money you would be spending in a single family home anyway. We like this lifestyle and when we do sell, we plan on just purchasing a townhouse for the same reasons.

As for "ridiculous" rules - we dont have any that are just there for fun.....I dont find any of them ridiculous or unreasonable, they are all in place to keep it a pleasant living environment for everyone and to keep the grounds neat and orderly.

Oh and also, we have virtually renovated our entire co-op and we dont need approval from a board to do so. As long as you arent making any structural changes to your unit, its yours to do with as you please. I personally have no problem with the get approval to make structural changes rule bc if someone next door wants to change something, id prefer someone check that they arent removing a support wall and compromising the rest of our homes. Another bonus, aside from just the outdoors, you arent responsible for any heating systems, water heaters, pipes, roofs, windows.....any issues with anything from behind the sheetrock is their issue to fix and not ours.

this word to word

Oh and our monthly payment (mortgage+maint) comes out a lot less than a mortgage we would have to pay if we had a house in a decent area in NY. But I guess it really depends on where you buy ... Anyway, whether you buy a house, a coop or a condo there are going to be things about it that you will love or hate , so you have to think about what you really want and can afford and also consider your lifestyle.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Typically the maintenance covers your real estate taxes, heat and water (which are the 3 main and largest costs included and you will have to pay them if you have a house, just in separate payments in added to your mortgage). It will also include the landscaping and upkeep of the buildings. These are all things you will pay for with a home as well, just not in one lump some. I owned a co-op and now own a home. It will definitely cost you more in each month for the house. You also can't pick your neighbors when you buy a house... you don't really know them until you move in wherever you go! With both your limitations, a first floor/one floor co-op/condo sounds like it might be better/easier for you.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

Posted by KartveliT

Posted by memi7206

We live in a co-op, have for 5 years and havent had a single issue. For us, its worth it bc we dont spend our weekends doing yardwork or maintenance, it is all taken care of for us. For our monthly maintenance, a very small portion of it actually goes to physical property maintenance. the bulk of it pays for water, heat, and taxes, all bills you would have and money you would be spending in a single family home anyway. We like this lifestyle and when we do sell, we plan on just purchasing a townhouse for the same reasons.

As for "ridiculous" rules - we dont have any that are just there for fun.....I dont find any of them ridiculous or unreasonable, they are all in place to keep it a pleasant living environment for everyone and to keep the grounds neat and orderly.

Oh and also, we have virtually renovated our entire co-op and we dont need approval from a board to do so. As long as you arent making any structural changes to your unit, its yours to do with as you please. I personally have no problem with the get approval to make structural changes rule bc if someone next door wants to change something, id prefer someone check that they arent removing a support wall and compromising the rest of our homes. Another bonus, aside from just the outdoors, you arent responsible for any heating systems, water heaters, pipes, roofs, windows.....any issues with anything from behind the sheetrock is their issue to fix and not ours.

this word to word

Oh and our monthly payment (mortgage+maint) comes out a lot less than a mortgage we would have to pay if we had a house in a decent area in NY. But I guess it really depends on where you buy ... Anyway, whether you buy a house, a coop or a condo there are going to be things about it that you will love or hate , so you have to think about what you really want and can afford and also consider your lifestyle.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

we have been in out co-op just about a year... we love it... no complaints.

i would say 80% of our maintenance fees actually go towards paying the water/gas bills etc... and i love the fact that if i break something... i just make a phone call and they fix it!

Bugs? call maintenance... dripping shower? call maintenance... entrance door sticks? call maintenance...

no need to shovel snow... or mow grass.. its great!

i love the fact that i only have to pay 1 bill and that covers everything! i run the A/C till the doorknobs freeze and my electric bill doesn't change.

and the best part is.. my maintenance fee + mortgage payments is still less then rent in the area on the same size apartment!

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

I live in a Co-op (not on LI though) but like anything else there are pros and cons. I think the biggest pros are the fact that we basically live worry free. If anything breaks or needs repair in the apt. we call maintenance and they come ASAP and fix it. We don't have to worry about shelling out $$ and hiring an outside contractor to fix stuff like clogs, leaks, etc. etc. Those things can quickly add up when you own a home if your DH is not handy. Also you don't have to worry about outside maintenance which can be VERY time consuming.

We have no mortgage on the apartment and our maintenance charges range from $825-950ish depending on the month (it includes electricity, gas, water so we don't see 100 utility bills come in a month). This is in Manhattan so it's on the low side for Manhattan but may be on the higher side for LI...not sure.

As far as the board goes I have mixed feelings about mine. They are VERY strict when it comes to certain things like subleasing, new shareholders, etc. and at one time pets (they are coming around to the no dog clause now) but in retrospect the fact that they are so strict about that stuff keeps our building financials sound. There is a very low percentage of foreclosure/default rates in our coops when it comes to mortgage and maintenance charges. They also constantly are informing us of any changes that take place.

As far as renovations go as long as we are not making any structural changes we do not have to get official board approval but any work being hired at must be done by a licensed contractor. At one time our board used to offer a painting credit where if you paid someone x amount of money to paint the coop would reimburse you a partial amount. They have removed that now but that was nice to have.

Keep in mind that if you do buy a co-op many impose a flip tax when selling. If you do plan on moving in a few years you may want to take that into consideration because depending on your board it can be a substantial amount of your profit that you have to pay.

Honestly since most board members are voted in by shareholders if you are unhappy with anything on your board you have the option to either run for the board or elect someone who you feel will benefit your co-op. We have had some awesome improvements made because of new board members with a fresh vision.

Like I said everything has its pros and its cons. My coop is very big though (almost 2,000) apartments so its a different animal than the co-ops on LI.

Message edited 6/13/2011 11:53:05 AM.

Re: Questions About Living in a Co-Op / Condo

It really depends on the particular co-op or condo. Sometimes you don't really know untill you move it, unless you can get honest answers form people who live there. The staff, managemnt & board members (which change) really make a difference.

Also, if it is in a good financial position you will find fewer increases in maintainence, and that repairs can be done properly.

No place is perfect, I would rate mine a B+ as far as fixing things, but sometimes, I do wish it were my own, so I could take care of things my way, on my time, but it is nice not having to seal with things like roofs, boilers, grass & snow.

The maintainence fees seem high, but if it is a decent co-op they are put to good use. It is mroe $ up fornt, but you don't have as many surprise cost as you do with a house (new roof, water heater breaks, basement floods, etc.)

If you can find a house you can afford & still have money left to hire people for things you can't do, that may work for you too.

In my area, houses were a big jump from co-ops, and condos were pretty muxh the same as houses, so it made sense, but it's been 4.5 years & I'm not sure if it is forever for us. I do like my neighbors though.

Message edited 6/13/2011 6:29:35 PM.