CO-OP/CONDO BUYERS

Police detective: "Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"

Sherlock Holmes: "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."

Police detective: "The dog did nothing in the night-time."

Sherlock Holmes: "That was the curious incident."

— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,  "Silver Blaze"

Cooperatives (and sometimes condominiums) are often asked to intervene when shareholders complain about noise — in particular noise from a barking dog in a neighboring apartment. The case of Ho Foong Shiu Realty Corp. v. Pullman involves a rental apartment building, but the court's analysis and ruling concerning the proof required is probably applicable to co-op apartments as well. 

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Here's a story that highlights why it's important for shareholders and boards alike stay on top of paperwork. A shareholder in an East Midtown co-op owns two contiguous units that he combined into one. He tells Ronda Kaysen in the latest "Ask Real Estate" column in The New York Times that the city has not asked him to change the certificate of occupancy, nor has he requested to have it changed. "I pay two maintenance and utility bills. Should I request a certificate of occupancy update from the city? What are the pros and cons of doing so?" Kaysen explains that making the change is "not a matter of choice. It is dictated by the city’s building code and depends on how the apartments were combined." Co-ops tend to not approve renovations that require changing the certificate of occupancy, but to be safe, Kaysen recommends having the architect or engineer confirm whether the renovated apartment is in compliance with the law "and if that requires changing the certificate of occupancy." Even if the certificate of occupancy doesn't need to be updated, you may still need a letter of completion from the Department of Buildings (DOB). You don't want to find yourself in a position where you need to produce the appropriate paperwork and don't have it. Kaysen adds that the managing agent can combine the two stock certificates and leases into one to simplify the maintenance and utility bills. 

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A READER ASKS: I serve on the board of a 13-story cooperative, and we are planning a series of major capital improvements in the next five years. The renovations include façade restoration work, roof repairs, a limited heating upgrade, replacing some of the windows, and minor changes to the lobby. Although the building is contemporary in style, it is located in a historic district, so we know we will need landmark permits. I read your Spotlight piece on the types of permits the LPC issues, but I am wondering the types of restrictions that we might expect the LPC to impose on the work we plan to do. Is approval required only for the exterior projects or for the interior work as well? Do we have to keep the building's appearance exactly the same or are visual changes allowed?

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One of the things that makes Brooklyn Heights such a gorgeous and, therefore, coveted neighborhood is its architecture. It's long been one of Brooklyn's priciest areas, so it's not surprising to hear that condos are proliferating there, especially given all those sexy historic bank buildings that are ripe for the picking. Take the old Brooklyn Trust Company Building. Completed in 1916, the building was designed by Edward York and Philip Sawyer, considered the go-to bank architects of the early 20th century. Modeled after the Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona, Italy, it's as gorgeous inside as it is outside. It boasts a grand banking hall with a vaulted ceiling and a Cosmati mosaic floor. This splendid structure on Montague and Clinton Streets is a city and federal landmark and still operates as a bank. The ground level is home to a Chase Bank branch, and Chase ain't going anywhere. But the building's top floors are being converted to boutique condos, reports The New York Times. A dozen to be exact, plus four duplexes. Nice. "Construction will be complete this spring and sales are expected to begin soon, with prices starting at $3.35 million for a two-bedroom up to $4.35 million for a five-bedroom duplex." The conversion is, because of the building's landmark status, complex, but the results are sure to be pretty darn sweet for whoever is lucky enough to call the boutique condos home. The Times adds that "in perhaps the most striking anomaly, the top floor has no windows. Instead, rooms have operable skylights providing light and air. The top floor has dramatic steel trusses, from which the lower floors are suspended. Three of the duplexes have a stair ladder in a secondary bedroom leading to loft space." Talk about having the best house in the best neighborhood! The cherry on the top is that it's near all those subway lines, the picturesque promenade, and the magnificent Brooklyn Bridge.

Photo by Scott Bintner for Property Shark.

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Do you remember the Bowery? Whether you view it as a former Skid Row or a long-gone hardcore punk rock heaven, its grit defined the New York City that many of us grew up knowing and loving — a New York City that has, thankfully, been captured in Taxi Driver and the French Connection. The face of the Bowery has changed a lot — gentrification has transformed it into an unrecognizable place, a place that has no room for the likes of CBGB anymore, preferring instead trendy shops, restaurants, and a Whole Foods. Many considered the neighborhood's last holdout to be 190 Bowery, that gorgeous, graffiti-covered limestone building, a former bank — in fact, the Germania Bank building — that doubled as a piece of old New York architecture and a snapshot of the Bowery that once was. For more than 40 years, that old bank was home to photographer Jay Maisel. He paid $102,000 for the building in 1966 and resisted selling for years. Last year, however, he made a deal to sell the building to developer Aby Rosen. Citing public records filed with the city late last week, the New York Daily News reported that Maisel got $55 million for it. Rosen's plans? He's put the building back on the market, but it's a safe guess that whoever snaps it up will convert the space to condos, right after the last vestiges of a now extinct neighborhood are scrubbed away for good.

Photo by Joshua Kahn for Property Shark

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An extremely important tax deadline is coming up in a little more than a week. We're talking about the deadline for New York City's co-op/condo abatement. This benefit can save eligible apartment owners a significant amount of real estate taxes. Typically, the abatement is 17.5 percent, but it may be as much as 28.1 percent in some buildings.

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Navigating the world of New York real estate is no easy feat. Any co-op or condo owner can attest to that fact, even if they aren't in the 1 percent that seems to be the main focus of real estate news as luxury condos continue popping up all over the city. When you sell a co-op or condo, the road from signed contract to closed sale can be, as one Beatle once put it, a long and winding one. Brickunderground.com explains that the amount of time it can take depends on the "kind of apartment you’ve got, the demand for it, and you and your buyer’s ability and desire to finalize the deal quickly." It also breaks down the milestones co-op and condo owners can expect when getting ready to sell in the city in this neat infographic. Click it again to enlarge.

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There are three critical elements of any successful underlying mortgage refinancing: planning, pricing, and processing. If you're planning to refinance your underlying mortgage, read on to see how you can make the process go as smoothly as possible.

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For 50 years, the American Bible Society has called 1865 Broadway home. But after half a century, the nonprofit bible distributor is packing up and heading to Philadelphia. The society is funding that relocation with the $300 million it got for selling its coveted headquarters to residential real estate company AvalonBay Communities, reports the New York Daily News. What's the future of 1865 Broadway? Nothing's set in stone yet, but condos are a definite maybe. So keep your eyes peeled, potential condo buyers, because when it comes to location, location, location, you can't go wrong with primo posh digs near Central Park.

Photo by Matthew Haines for Property Shark.

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It used to be that co-ops got the bum rap for requiring potential buyers and renters to fill out extensive applications, but it looks like condos are starting to follow suit. Just ask a condo owner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who writes to Ronda Kaysen in the latest "Ask Real Estate" column in The New York Times. "The board has instituted a process for renting out units that involves a lengthy application and significant fees. The board says the process is allowed under its right of first refusal, which allows the board to rent a unit under the same terms that the unit is offered." The condo owner wants to know whether the board can use its right of first refusal in this manner and whether it can be stopped. Kaysen explains that a "building’s bylaws determine whether a board can require an application and fees for renting out a unit." If it's in the bylaws, there's not much this condo unit can do to challenge. And if it's not in the bylaws? Well, it's a case of knowing when to pick your battles. The condo owner can ask the board to review its procedures but any legal action would probably cost more than the application fee.

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