New York City Condominiums Elika specializes in assisting buyer's in pursuit of condo apartments through-out Manhattan. We begin by assessing your specific needs, finding the ideal condo, performing a comparable market analysis, negotiating on your behalf and finally consulting you through the board application in the case of a condo resale. When purchasing a condo in a New Development no board application is required. While condominiums can be found around lakes and golf courses in many parts of the country, New York City condos are generally situated in high-rise buildings, one atop another. But these condominiums are still considered real estate, and generally the same laws on sales, financing and taxes that apply to other properties also govern them. Before purchasing a condo in NYC, here are some things you need to know. In Manhattan each condo unit in a multi-dwelling building has its own block number and tax lot. Those parts of the building that are not part of your particular unit are called common elements. These include the outdoor areas and the land the building is on, as well as inside areas like the lobby, hallways and utility and laundry rooms.

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1. How New York City Condos Operate

When a building is put up as a condominium or converted into this type of property, the developer or owner of the building has to provide an offering plan to the state attorney general’s office giving the specifics of how the building will be run. He or she must also provide other documents including the condominium bylaws and declaration. The latter document will detail the percentage of common elements for which each unit is responsible. It will also specify where a unit ends and the common elements begin. This can vary from building to building. In some condos, the unit owned includes the surface of the interior walls and everything that that surface wraps around, while in others, units can extend as far as the center of any exterior walls.

In accordance with the building’s bylaws, New York City condos are run by a board of managers that are elected by the condo owners during a once-yearly meeting. In a number of buildings, each condo gets one vote, but in many others the number of votes is dependent upon the percentage of common elements that are owned, which is assessed according to such factors as unit value, location and size.

Unlike with co-ops, the condo board does not have the power to reject a prospective buyer and the only way the board can head off a deal is to step in and buy the property themselves. This “right of first refusal” is seldom employed because it requires a vote from all of the other unit owners, in addition to the fact that the board must come up with the money to buy the unit.

There have been a number of court cases which have revolved around the actions of condo boards. Generally, the courts have held that the board cannot be held personally liable for the operating decisions they make as long as their members are operating in good faith. Still unresolved in the courts is whether or not the board can assess a “flip tax” on those who are selling their units.

2. Tips on Buying Your First NYC Condo

It’s important to approach buying your first condo as if you were buying your first home. There’s no reason to stretch yourself financially, and it is generally acceptable to put only 20 percent down, so you do not put yourself in jeopardy of owing more than your condo is worth. It’s also advisable to obtain a fixed-rate mortgage, so that you have monthly housing expenses that remain stable.

If you want to be conservative, don’t spend over 35 percent of your pretax earnings on mortgage, property tax and home insurance combined. If you are a first-time buyer in your 20s or 30s you may feel tempted to extend yourself financially because you expect that your job income will grow quickly in the years ahead, but keep in mind that you may have children and that can change your mind set when it comes to work and boxing yourself into a large mortgage. To plan for the future, it’s best to come up with a budget incorporating the proposed mortgage and different variables like both spouses working full time, one employed part time and one remaining at home for a couple of years.

Even if you don’t have or plan on having children, it’s advisable to be cautious. Who is to say that unemployment won’t spike in your industry, or that you won’t have a mid-life crisis that prompts you to change careers? Even professionals and government workers who feel their income is protected need to plan for the possibility of being financially derailed by unexpected circumstances.

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3. In Sum

Experts say that after a severe downturn in sales in 2008, the condo market seemed to have rebounded somewhat in 2009. While sales of luxury condos still declined due to the fact that the banks were requiring large down payments from prospective buyers seeking mortgages, the market for smaller, more affordable New York City condominiums for first time buyers was moving again, aided by tax credits and low interest rates on mortgages. After Labor Day 2009, Leading industry sources reported that 40 percent of the new listings in Manhattan were condos. However, experts have reported that over the last few years asking prices have continued to decline, making this the ideal time to purchase a NYC condominium.

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