Maintenane cost in full-service co-op

get used to high maintenance due to increasing taxes and healthcare costs. it is not too high relative to other 1/2 bed rooms but makes you reconsider about buying vs renting.

$1.70 isnt considered 'that high' anymore due to rising taxes..

seems a bit high for a well-run coop to me--could be a sign of a large underlying mtge--high tax deductability would confirm

First, are you talking about listed square footage or actual, measured square footage? If the latter, I'd say $2 per square foot is about the limit. For a full-service building where utilities are included, $2 per square foot doesn't seem all that bad to me.

I am in a no-amenity walkup with nothing (no laundry room, no common areas other than hallway, zero utilities included), and my maintenance is $1.65 per measured square foot. It's all taxes, insurance, underlying mortgage, and modest reserve contribution. The building has refinanced to a self-liquidating loan, which required raising maintenance from $1.50 to $1.65, with the hopes of eventually being able to substantially reduce maintenance. But, beyond that, what can we do other than shop around for insurance and be judicious with building repairs?

size matters---bigger apts, even within same bldg, have lesser mntnces psf---that's why combos can be a bad deal

big apts in est bldgs, with small underlying mtges, can have mntnces just > 1.00 psf

I forget the averages now for manhattan coops, but I think the range is about $1.25-$2.00 sq/ft with no utilities (other than water/sewage) included. Certainly $2.00 is at the high end. You see this high end of the range, for example, in some buildings near me in GV around Washington Sq. Park on lower Fifth Ave. These are, by and large, "luxury" buildings with expected services but not the "concierge" type which is really "super-luxury."

As said above, underlying building mortgages account for lion's share of these high fees. Some coops that were built as land-leases and later purchased the land have very high carrying charges down near me. But sometimes it is something unusual about the building. A 13-story building with only 40 units has high expenses and few people to spread them over which is compounded when there's an elevator operator. For instance, the Portsmouth on West 9th Street and 29-45 East 9th Street are coops that have 3 entrances each staffed by a doorman. That's a lot of staff to pay for.

true all that kyle, scale very important--re expenses and all potential liabilities