Agency commissions are generally at your charge.
If you have appeal to a credit for the purchase of
your house, know that as a rule the refunds spread out
between 15 and 30 years. Your deposit will be approximately
20 % of the cost price and the land taxes are about
1.3 % of the cost price of the property a year.
As the complexity of the law, even for Americans, it
is recommended that you consult a lawyer before paying
a deposit. Check that you are life insured if you have
asked for a credit for your house ( it is not automatic
in USA ). It is also safer to subscribe to an insurance
for civil responsibility, because the real risks of
pursuits, and also to complementary policies ( umbrella
policy ).
You can choose between two formulas
: the condominium ( co-ownership ) or the cooperative
( typical American system where householders are jointly
responsible ).
-
A
Manhattan condo : purchaser buys the apartment
outright from the seller. Once bought, you own the
place. Ownership, in this case, entitles you to do
with your apartment whatever you desire. You can make
any number of reasonable improvements to your place,
live there yourself, rent it to others, or sell it
at any time and at any price to whomever is willing
to take it off your hands.
-
A
co-op is different: a co-op is a real estate
arrangement unique to Manhattan and its peculiar lifestyles
and characters, you actually buy a share in the building
or "housing corporation" rather than your apartment
outright. First off, the owner of a co-op may not
sell to whomever he desires or do with his apartment
whatever he wishes. A "Co-op Board", ostensibly elected
by the shareholders of the housing corporation, must
approve all transactions and new tenants before they
happen.
There are many real estate companies in NYC that will
walk you through the process of buying an apartment.
Once you have decided on the area you would like to
live in, contact the agents that specialise in housing
in that neighborhood.
Copyright EasyExpat Ltd © 2002-2008. All rights reserved.