Like single-family homes, condominium units tend to be owner-occupied. Financing for these units therefore tends to follow traditional guidelines and requirements centered on owner occupancy. But what happens when a condo unit is held as an…
Today, some eight years after the Great Recession, financing for co-op and condominium buildings and individual unit purchases is widely available. The market is overall quite healthy, and though there have been some systemic changes to th…
On March 15, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate to a range between 0.75 percent and 1 percent, The New York Times reported. That rate is known as the federal funds rate, which is defined as the interest rate at which de…
For residents on fixed incomes, or those who are already struggling to make ends meet because of a job loss, illness or divorce, any hit to their already-stretched-to-the-max budget can be devastating. So when a board levels an assessment o…
While not every co-op, condo, or HOA is struggling financially, every board should concern itself with the financial health of the community it governs. Here, financial pros give boards some tips on how to fortify their bottom line.
While most purchasers of condos and co-ops prefer conventional fixed-rate financing, there is a substantial market for variable rate co-op and condo mortgages. Generally referred to as ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages), these instruments ca…
A primary rule of cooperative living is that everyone pitches in their fair share. This applies to monthly maintenance payments, special assessments, and any other monetary obligation that allows the association to maintain quality of life…
On January 9, shortly before the end of his second and final term, President Barack Obama sent a directive to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), ordering a reduction in FHA mortgage insurance premiums by a quarter of…
Over 45 years ago, when New York City was entering a dangerous financial decline that nearly culminated in municipal bankruptcy in 1975, the 421-a tax exemption program was created to incentivize developers to enter into new residential dev…
New York City's residential real estate market had a moderate fourth quarter in 2016 to finish a record-breaking year, as the average home sales price (pertaining to co-ops, condominiums, and one-to-three-family dwellings), went up 10 perce…