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Monday, May 12, 2014

Why You Should Care Which Type of Plan Wins

A lot of you who don't intend to buy may feel that 'Co-op vs Condo' is of no interest to you.  But you should reconsider.

Condos are generally known for lower owner occupancy...which of course means liberal subletting policies.  If what you have in mind is owning and subletting your apartment and moving to Florida, or moving anywhere else and supplementing your income through subletting, then 'condo' is for you.  This could mean more students, could mean more 3-5 to an apartment.  Could mean some hygiene issues, too.  But an owner far off-premise isn't generally too concerned about these.

On the other hand, if you're a renter or an owner living here long term, and you care about who's moving next door to you, you're more likely to want a co-op plan to win.    Even those with young families may feel this way.  Co-op plans usually restrict subletting and are very careful about who is allowed to buy.  Just remember...not paying attention to issues like this now won't help you once a plan is passed and your new neighbors start moving in.

2 comments:

  1. One point about governance. For similar specs, condos usually cost much more than co-ops. What are you paying for? Primarily for increased mobility and the ability to treat the condo like an investment and to sublet. Any condo governance that forbids these things would be stupidly contradictory. You'd be paying more for no benefit. So of necessity, any condo plan will be more expensive and will include liberal subletting.

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  2. Stuyvesant Town Complex Appears Headed to Auction Block

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/nyregion/stuyvesant-town-lender-prepares-to-foreclose-on-a-loan-for-the-complex.html?hp&_r=0

    By CHARLES V. BAGLI - MAY 13, 2014

    "Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, the largest apartment complex in Manhattan, is most likely headed back to the auction block.

    A leafy redoubt for generations of middle-class families, Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village became a symbol of excess and greed during the real estate boom and the great recession. ..."

    Now is the time for the TA to establish a legacy pulling together every possible resource to obtain the best possible outcomes benefitting the highest possible number of ST-PCV residents.

    Assuming a 20% permanent affordability scheme, the true measure of TA efforts will be the outcomes achieved for the remaining 80%.

    Set aside all extraneous condo-coop debate topics except the certainty of higher condo conversion purchase prices effectively eliminating any possibility of ownership for a significant percentage of otherwise eligible ST-PCV residents.

    The TA needs to explain how a condo conversion will benefit residents who aspire to ownership and are ready, willing and able to purchase their apartment under a coop conversion, but unable to afford a purchase of the same apartment under a condo conversion. Their ownership aspirations are crushed. How do they benefit under that scenario?


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