seller's agreement to pay coop maint costs

My strong advice to you would be for the seller to pre-pay the maintenance. They should bring a bank check to the closing and hand it directly to the managing agent (who will be present). Better yet, if they can pay it ahead of the closing so that the check clears and is reflected on the apartment's account, great. I personally would not want to deal with an escrow after the closing. It's unnecessarily complex for something that can be handled simply.

So why doesn't the seller just reduce the sales price by that amount? Less taxes too.
Hmmmm….

At closing you will receive a credit equal to 6 months maintenance. That is how it works.

Maybe they can't get a lower price approved for the board, would make a "bad" comp