if one buys a sponsor owned condo and does not move in

Do you mean coop?

In a co-op, such an owner would be called a "Holder of Unsold Shares", with all kinds of restrictions as to getting/keeping that status when buying from the sponsor.

I don't know what it's called in a condo, but it must be covered in the condo's governing docs.

Alanhart, yes - a co-op.

NWT's reply almost certainly explains what's going on -- a Holder of Unsold Shares has superpowers! Once the unit is sold, though, the shares become ordinary shares.

I don't think condos have a similar arrangement, because they're real property rather than the whole crazy cooperative corporation thing.

http://cooperator.com/articles/220/1/Holders-of-Unsold-Shares/Page1.html

read...

great article, confrimed my theory though that it is a a grey area.

Also, buildings vary as to who has what rights under their Offering Plans. For example. most Rockrose plans had not only the sale from Sponsor to First Shareholder be "No Board Approval", but also the first resale being the same. This is not true in most buildings. In other words, look at the offering documents because it's not the same for all buildings.

In addition: there are some very special conditions to be an offical "Holder of Unsold Shares" which often times are not followed, but the Coop's don't demand the conditions be met. In most cases, a Holder of Unsold Shares must be DESIGNATED as such in the sale from the Sponsor, and the Sponsor has to act as guarantor on the payment of maintenance. Since most Sponsors SON'T do that, a lot of "unsold shares" don't meet all the burdens to truly be considered such.