Category: Finance

Although co-ops make up roughly 80 percent of the available-for-purchase housing stock in New York City, buyers often face this common dilemma when apartment: hunting: should they seek a co-op, or a condo? Many factors come into play in t…

New York City's new congestion pricing plan could be a financial boon to residential real estate, even if it poses an inconvenience to drivers who regularly commute into Manhattan. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journ…

Two major residential projects are garnering attention in a New York City neighborhood mainly known for stocks, bonds and derivatives. The area in question is the Financial District, where a couple of noteworthy office-to-condo conversion…

Owners of newer New York City condominiums are facing higher property taxes, as once-beneficial tax abatements are starting to expire. According to a study by StreetEasy , the imminent end of the tax abatements means that not on…

As community members, co-op and condo owners work together to maintain the greater structure in which they live – not just their individual units. Major systems – things like boilers, roofs, and facades – are expensive to maintain and repai…

‘Jumbo loans.’  It’s a term we hear frequently and see advertised regularly.  But what exactly is a jumbo loan, and how did ‘jumbos’ come to be? Origins The world of home loans -- including co-op and condo mortgages -- has changed and evo…

In the last couple of months, The Cooperator has been covering the recent issues surrounding Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) cooperatives. Among those areas of concern include co-op buildings that were threatened with forecl…

Thanks to rising home prices a decade after the foreclosure crisis, it has become harder for most New York families to buy a home, the New York Post reported. According to the non-profit Center for NYC Neighborhoods (CNYCN) study, …

For many people, appraisals – why they're done, how they’re done, and how they’re used – is a mystery. But that need not be the case! For all intents and purposes, appraisals are a straightforward and simple component in the process of comp…

At the heart of the crisis currently affecting affordable housing in New York City are the dozens of HDFC co-op buildings that are threatened with foreclosure by New York City for real estate tax delinquency or failure to pay water and sewe…