OT NYC Apartment Question
 

Not being from NYC (although I have visited), I don't know how the apartment thing works there. Does one have to buy the right to rent an apartment
there from the previous tenent?

Cheers
Marty

Not being from NYC (although I have visited), I don't know how the apartment
thing works there. Does one have to buy the right to rent an apartment
there from the previous tenent?.

Since there are no houses in the city the commoners were convinced a long time
ago that buying a little apartment in a big building was the thing to do.
Intellegent New Yorkers still buy houses in the city called brownstones. They
cost a pile of money but at least you still own your own house.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"Trains are a winter sport"

SAIL LOCO wrote:
Not being from NYC (although I have visited), I don't know how the apartment
thing works there. Does one have to buy the right to rent an apartment
there from the previous tenent?.

Since there are no houses in the city the commoners were convinced a long time
ago that buying a little apartment in a big building was the thing to do.
Intellegent New Yorkers still buy houses in the city called brownstones. They
cost a pile of money but at least you still own your own house.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"Trains are a winter sport"

Doesn't this mean "Condominium"? What's the difference between buying a condo and buying an
apartment?

Cheers
Marty

Dave wrote:

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 11:32:23 -0400, Martin Baxter said:


Not being from NYC (although I have visited), I don't know how the apartment thing works there. Does one have to buy the right to rent an apartment
there from the previous tenent?


Generally, the answer is no.

So what's this stuff about "buying" an apartment, I thought an apartment was something one rented.

Cheers
Marty

2 forms exist
condo and co-op
they are different in terms of organization
gf.



"Martin Baxter" wrote in message
...
SAIL LOCO wrote:
Not being from NYC (although I have visited), I don't know how the
apartment
thing works there. Does one have to buy the right to rent an apartment
there from the previous tenent?.

Since there are no houses in the city the commoners were convinced a
long time
ago that buying a little apartment in a big building was the thing to
do.
Intellegent New Yorkers still buy houses in the city called brownstones.
They
cost a pile of money but at least you still own your own house.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"Trains are a winter sport"

Doesn't this mean "Condominium"? What's the difference between buying a
condo and buying an
apartment?

Cheers
Marty

2 forms exist
condo and co-op
they are different in terms of organization

You only own shares in a co-op. Condo is better because you have more legal
rights as to how you can modify the space...in most cases.

RB

"SAIL LOCO" wrote

Since there are no houses in the city the commoners were convinced a long
time
ago that buying a little apartment in a big building was the thing to do.

Yup, by the IRS. Interest on the mortgage is deductable, rent is not, making
it wise to buy and pay interest vs rent.

That's still the conventional wisdom, but it's no longer a slam dunk. Those
of us with a somewhat longer perspective recall when the real estate market
fell, and there are some suggestions among those in the know that prices may
be getting too far out of line with reality.


At no time did anyone I know lose money on a NY apartment. They all doubled
their money or much better.

RB

co-ops are an issue of the long ago past. they still exist, but for all
practical purposes are like buggy whips.

2 forms exist
condo and co-op
they are different in terms of organization
gf.

good explaination, Dave.


Date: 10/5/2004 5:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id:

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 12:34:01 -0400, Martin Baxter said:

Intellegent New Yorkers still buy houses in the city called brownstones.
They
cost a pile of money but at least you still own your own house.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"Trains are a winter sport"

Doesn't this mean "Condominium"? What's the difference between buying a
condo and buying an
apartment?

You're talking about several different beasts here.

A Brownstone is a whole house, generally 3 to 4 floors and often complete
with small back yard. They run several million in good parts of the City.

A condominium is generally one apartment that is part of a larger building.
You own the condominium much as you would own a house, and can generally
rent to whomever you please. In addition to your mortgage and taxes, you pay
"common charges" for shared facilities and services.

A coop is shares in a corporation that owns an apartment building, plus a
"proprietary lease" from the corporation. You pay, in addition to your
mortgage, monthly "maintenance" charges. Part of the maintenance charges are
for mortgage interest on the mortgage the corporation gave to the bank to
buy the building, or later refinanced. Another part is for the real estate
taxes paid by the corporation. These interest and real estate charges are
passed through, so the owner of the coop can deduct them.

One advantage of the coop is that every purchase (with limited exceptions
for sponsor sales) is subject to approval by the corporation's board of
directors, so there is some assurance that those who buy will be able to
meet their maintenance obligations. In fact these days unless you have at
least a million in liquid assets after the purchase of even a small
apartment you won't get in to many coops. Coop boards have historically also
acted a screeners for "undesirable" co-residents. For example it isn't
unknown for well-known entertainers to be turned down because the board
doesn't want the notoriety. It is believed by some that boards may also
exercise their discretion by looking for reasons to turn down purchasers of
an ethnic identity they feel wouldn't "fit in."