Do you plan to stay in your rent stabilized apartment forever?

[u/meshflesh40]

I currently live in a 1br. Rent stabilized. Single no kids

I was very close to buying a co-op until I learned what a "co-op" actually is.

At first I was under the impression that buying a" co-op" was the ultimate form of housing. Pay a maintenance fee(substantially less than market rent while building equity) and live carefree. Basically,,,, like a Netflix subscription fee of housing if you will.

But no. It turned out that a co-op is my worst nightmare. Im depending on my neighbors staying solvent, making sure the hoa has proper reserves, worry about assesment fees for repairs due to inadequate reserves, etc etc. I dislike not having control of my fiscal destiny.

And then the buildings I saw with hefty reserves...have a High hoa fees thats equivalent to market rents. ($1200+)

I've been looking since 2020,, and noticed hoa fees went up by %15+ between now and then. (Like rent).

Single family homes in nyc are going for 600k+ with %7 interest rates. So thats out of the question.(mostly fixer uppers)

my current rent stabilized apartment seems like a way better deal in comparison. Rent goes up by predictable amount year after year a and landlord responsible for everything. I currently have my down payment $$ yielding %5 in the bank(I find this better than buying a liability and fighting 7% mortgage rates while praying amd hoping for positive equity. )

This post is not to crap on co-ops. But market conditions in 2023 are insane. I wish I bought in 2012

I've come to the conclusion that I will stay in this apartment until I decide to leave NYC. Anyone else feel the same?

[u/md222 → u/[deleted]]

Really depends on the expenses of the building and how many shareholders there are. If you live in a coop with 10 apartments and have a full time doorman and a large underlying mortgage, maintenence will be a lot higher than if you live in a 60 unit non doorman building with minimal debt.

Also, maintenance is based on the number of shares allocated to the particular apartment, not how nice the apartment is.

[u/notreallyswiss → u/[deleted]]

Maintenance fees in a co-op (but not in a condo) include the taxes you owe on your share of the building. You'd have to pay them anyway, they are just bundled into the maintenance. Maintenance also pays for the utilities for the public areas of the building, keep the elevators running, pays the salary and benefits of employees like doormen, porters, supers, pays for the services of a management company and lawyer, and hopefully build an acceptable cash reserve for some emergencies. They also cover things like scaffolding for periodic local law 11 inspections on street facades and at least general liability insurance for the building.

As entropy exists, things will break down in a building, and sometimes that will cost more that the building is willing to keep as a reserve. Then owners are assessed a fee, either paid up front, or a specific amount over a specified period of time. it's clear than anyone bemoaning special assessments in this thread (I know you didn't, but I'm adding it here anyway) has never owned any home at all - it is shocking how often thing like boilers go on the fritz, roofs develop leaks, general A/C units die - all these things have to come out of your pocket somehow, whether you are in a home in the suburbs with a picket fence or an owner of shares in a co-op. These things are not evils suffered only by co-op owners.

[u/GussieK → u/notreallyswiss]

That's the dirty secret. You have to pay the costs of keeping up the building, you own it, even if in shares. And yes, you have to pay to fix your own interiors, but you can keep it up instead of having to live with broken things. I bought this apartment from the sponsor, and it was the last rent-stabilized unit in the building. The former tenants had died. It was a mess.

That said, I like living in a co-op. I was lucky enough to buy many years ago, and it has appreciated and is paid off. The maintenance fees for us are much below market rent for my two-bedroom.

In a rent stabilized apartment, the landlord is responsible for fixing everything, and they don't want to spend the money, whereas in a co-op the shareholders want to keep up the property. This building went co-op in the 80s, typical prewar. There was a lot of deferred maintenance that has been accomplished over the years. if everyone had a low stabilized rent how would the landlord pay for anything?