If you are looking for an apartment in Manhattan, you may have seen the word ‘condops’ used in various property listings and advertisements. Here is all you need to know about condops in Manhattan and how you can get one for yourself.
What is a Condop?
A condop is essentially a hybrid building, which contains both residential and commercial units. These were commonly built in the late 1980s to find a way around the tax rule back then and are now commonly found in Manhattan; mostly in neighborhoods like the Upper East Side, Lenox Hill and Murray Hill. The commercial unit, whether it is a parking garage or an office space, can be separately sold or retained. The residential unit, on the other hand, can be divided into multiple living spaces, controlled by a co-op corporation. For instance, the commercial space on the ground floor would be designated as one condo unit, while the entire residential unit would be considered as another one, divided into co-operative shares.
Tips for buying a condop in Manhattan
New York real estate is expensive and careful consideration must be put into buying any property in the area. Here are a few tips for those planning to buy a condop in Manhattan.
- It is important for you to plan ahead about what you want to do with this property. If you planning to buy a condop and put it on rent, you must study the Manhattan real estate market in more depth. The rental return might not be high, depending on where you are situated in Manhattan as well as whether you have one or two bedrooms. Instead of assuming that the condop would be profitable in every way, you must research on your target rental clientele before making the purchase.
- You must ask if the condop is freehold or leasehold, because if the condop is leasehold, the lease tends to go up every time the property is resold. However, in Manhattan, almost all properties are freehold, except those in Battery Park. Nonetheless, it is always important to clear this out when you are viewing the condop.
- Buying a condop can be a complex process sometimes due to the complexity in the ownership structure of the property. The complexity of buying a condop comes from the additional corporate layer involved in the ownership structure. Your real estate attorney would have to do some extra financial and legal diligence for you to get ownership of the condop.
- Another thing that a prospective buyer should keep in mind is what sort of businesses occupy the commercial space; whether it is a busy restaurant with a late night crowd or a quiet book store. This will allow you decide whether this specific Manhattan condop is the right one for you or not and whether it suits your current lifestyle.
Condops are an interesting place to live and suit a lot of people’s living arrangements. Hence, if you are planning to move into a condop in Manhattan, the tips mentioned above will definitely help you out in making the process easier.
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