Engineer Question

In a pretty snall building of only 10 units it would, IMHO, be important to get professional opinion on building systems which could be big $$$ to repair/replace, such as heating/cooling systems, roof, facade, windowsw, etc.

I have no special knowledge here. But let's just reason this through. You would be responsible for 1/10 of the costs of a building sitting in NYC. Any idea what it could cost to fix a major fault in the foundation? Rebuild the space extending from the building under the sidewalk if it is crumbling? Replace a roof? Peel the bricks off a facade if water has infultrated for 50 years to corrode/erode the support structure? Wonder if that floor that is crooked is benign settling or a more serious structural issue? Are you prepared to dive head first into a massive investment without knowing the soundness of the building? In a large coop, risk is spread over many dozens of units and thus comparitively much, much less than in a small coop. In addition, city codes may more strictly insure maintenance in large buildings than small ones.

Small buildings have a host of major headaches for owners that shareholders in large buildings never encounter. The very fact you would be looking to buy in such a small building and yet have no idea whether or why you would need an engineer's inspection concerns me. Do you understand the risk you are taking on in this building? Have you considered that in a 150 unit coop, if one or two shareholders default on monthly maintenance payments, your world goes on without much interruption. In a 10 unit building, if one owner hits rough times, you're liabilities go up 10%. 2 owners in a bad place and your expenses for living there go up 20%. You ready for that?