I'm considering making an offer on an apartment in a very small, 5 unit coop in Park Slope. Its a townhouse. Until seeing this I'd looked only at large buildings in the city and am entirely unfamiliar with these kind of cooperatives. I love the neighborhood and the unit is very appealing and the listing agent assures me that boilers/roofs/sidewalks etc for this size building (about 5000 square... [more]
I'm considering making an offer on an apartment in a very small, 5 unit coop in Park Slope. Its a townhouse. Until seeing this I'd looked only at large buildings in the city and am entirely unfamiliar with these kind of cooperatives. I love the neighborhood and the unit is very appealing and the listing agent assures me that boilers/roofs/sidewalks etc for this size building (about 5000 square feet spread over 5 floors) are not wildly expensive--meaning, if the boiler breaks it's not 35 thousand, but 10 thousand spread between six people. (I realize he' not necessarily a reliable source). What is your experience (if you have any yet) with the "heftier" expenses that arise in small buildings? The ones that are not covered in maintenance, of course, but paid by special assessment. I need a worst case scenario because I have a real aversion to the idea of constant assessments. Also, I'm trying to research the lifespans/costs of the big capital improvements and not finding specifics. I know this issues could drastically change the "price" of the apartment. Any insight you (or anyone else) could offer would be appreciated...
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