What is the difference between buying coop and condo?

dmitry k: What is the difference between buying coop and condo?
Hi there , I’m looking to buy an apartment in Queens, NY. Majority of the places I like are coops. I’ve been getting a strong advise not to buy a coop, but I’d like to know if there is a difference between coop and condo. I think condos in Queens are seriously overpriced and cost as much as houses. Why would there be such a difference in prices? Why the demand on condos is so much higher? Is there any legal restrictions in buying and selling coop? What is a difference in holding a title to condo versus owning a coop apartment?

Answers and Views:

Answer by wolvesfan1590
Condo’s you actually own the space you live in. Coops you own a share of the entire building, kind of like stock. What others do to their unit has more of an affect on you in a coop. at least this is what I understand from when I was shopping for a place.

Answer by christine b
In a condo, you own the physical unit itself, and pay maintenance for common areas; with a coop, you own shares in a corporation and allow yourself to “rent” your unit. Your maintenance is much higher in a coop than a condo. In a condo, you can vote on issues; with a coop, you vote for a representative for the shareholders, there is also the agent’s rep, and usually the sponsors’ rep on the board. Sometimes when you sell a coop, there’s a flip tax that has to be paid back to the coop board. We bought a coop on Long Island in 1990 – big mistake – the maintenance was high when we bought – $ 800 (you pay the underlying sponsor’s mtg.; taxes; garbage; water; super’s salary; managing agent’s fee, etc. thru maintenance in a coop), and eventually got to $ 1,200 per mo. due to balloon payments on the underlying mtg. When we wanted to sell, we were in a jam – you can lower the price and take whatever hit you want, but you can’t change the monthly maintenance – it took us 2 years to sell (I had a 2 bedroom unit and had three children there – it was rough) – we took a $ 20,000 loss but it was worth getting outta there!

Answer by JW
according to my real estate textbook, individual coop units can’t be mortgaged without making other owners liable. Condos on the other hand can be individually mortgaged w/o putting other owners at risk. This explains the price difference that you are seeing.