Looking for Apartment. Co-Op or Condo in NYC?

Question

What is the difference between co-op or condo in NYC. My girlfriend told me that you have to pass a board, which can be extremely strict . She also said that you have to have social and character or personal references. Which is usually more expensive and which is more reasonable.

Answer 1

A condo is a straight out purchase of an apartment with monthly maintenance fees to cover repairs, upkeep of hallways and other public areas in the building, etc. Most condominiums do have a board that approves who moves in and some are stricter than others.

When you sell your condo, it goes for market price which is usually higher than your original purchase price.

A Co-op is much more complicated in that you buy into a housing cooperative (for much less than buying a condo) and in most cases the cooperative board is carrying a mortgage on the property so although you pay less up front, your maintenance may be higher though usually still affordable as the purpose of Co-ops is to provide more affordable housing, so don't expect to find any of them in ritzy Manhattan neighbourhoods. Many of them that you find farther up and down town are being emptied out and replaced with luxury buildings that the original tenants could never hope to afford.

When you sell a co-op, you only get your original purchase price back.

There's a much more detailed explanation at Wikipedia: