Should You Rent in a Condo? Should You Rent in a Coop? Or Just Rental Buildings?
Should you rent with an individual owner in a condo or coop? Finding an apartment to rent in NYC is no easy task. What could make it a little easier is if you expand your search and try to rent in a coop or rent in a condo building, alongside your search to rent in a standard “rental” building. On my website frele – the open and honest rental marketplace – we have hundreds of units in coops and condos for rent.
However, you should know what you are getting into.
Coops and condos are buildings in which an individual owner has purchased a unit. There are some pros and cons when you rent in coop / rent in a condo.
NOTE: To search for NYC apartments, go to frele.com (free service). Or, click for more rental tips.
FIRST THE POSITIVES (PROS) WHEN YOU RENT IN A CONDO OR A COOP
If a unit owner is looking to rent out his or her apartment, you can build a relationship with an individual landlord instead of huge landlord where all you are is a number in the landlord’s bottom line.
Also, while apartments in rental buildings tend to be more standardized units, apartments in condo or coop units often have undergone renovations at one point to the owner’s liking which could make for a very unique apartment. Not to mention that generally speaking the finishes in coops and condos are nicer than in rental buildings.
Because you have a one on one relationship with the condo or coop owner, you will often have greater impact over the negotiations. Also, an individual owner is usually more worried about having a vacancy so you can use this to your advantage as well in terms of negotiating the price.
NOW THE NEGATIVES (CONS) WHEN YOU RENT IN A CONDO OR A COOP.
Depending on your situation, some of these “downsides” may not even apply, but you should be aware of them before you start down the long and arduous application process so that you can assess if you want to rent in a coop or rent in a condo. It has to be the right decision for you.
You should always ask if there are additional coop or condo fees. These can be substantial. They are usually at least $1000, but could also run over $2000 in some buildings. This would be on top of any brokerage fee you may be paying.
While you are usually going to get a “renewal” lease in a rental building, this is not a foregone conclusion in a condo or coop. Sometimes the owner may wish to move back into the apartment or even sell it. These are not issues you usually have to worry about when applying in a rental building. For these reasons, you should at least try to negotiate an option for a second year when you are applying to rent in a coop or a condo.
Probably the worst aspect trying to rent n a condo or rent in a coop is the application process, which tends to be much more cumbersome than that in a normal rental building. Note that the coop process is usually much worse than the condo process, but both are still pretty involved.
When you rent in either a coop or rent in a condo, there will be a detailed application package which usually involves filling out a financial statement and reference letters. Then, the board has to review and “approve” you. This can take weeks, so it can be very tough to plan on exact move in date for a condo or a coop. But at least you should not have to start paying rent until you are approved, so you don’t have to worry about this.
When you rent in a condo, getting approved is not the hard part. You will almost always get approved. However, when you rent in a coop it is a different story. Not only is the paperwork a lot more intense and more scrutinized by the board, but usually the coop board will want to physically interview you. The coop board has the right to reject you, and while most of the time you should have no problem, coops do turn people down and it is something that has to at least be considered when applying (i..e make sure you have a backup plan in case you get rejected). And guess what, they don’t have to even give you a reason for rejecting you – and they usually do not.
Applying to rent in a coop or a condo can really open up your search more, but you should understand the pros and cons before doing so.
For more NYC rental tips, please go to frele.com/learn.
This article was written by:
Phil Horigan, NYC Real Estate Veteran
Founder, Frēlē, the free and honest NYC rental marketplace
Producer, Phil’s NYC Rental Tips [YouTube Channel]
Blogger: flowfreely.com
Instagram: @philiphorigan
Phil has been a licensed NYC real estate agent since 2004 working for some of the top real estate brokerage firms in the industry. He founded Leasebreak.com in 2013, and Frēlē in 2017. Frēlē and Leasebreak are free and transparent rental marketplaces to search for or post apartments for rent in NYC
Go to frele.com to search for NYC apartments (free service).