Glossary
The vocabulary of Manhattan property, decoded. Terms link from every guide on this site.
- Board package
- The application dossier a co-op (and some condos) requires from a buyer: financial statement, tax returns, reference letters and more. Assembled with your agent; judged by the board.
- Classic six
- A pre-war apartment layout: living room, formal dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a small maid’s room. Sixes, sevens and eights are counted the same way.
- Common charges
- The monthly building fee paid by condo owners. Does not include property tax, which condo owners pay separately — remember this when comparing with co-op maintenance.
- Contract deposit
- The 10% of purchase price handed over at contract signing, held in escrow. Walking away after signing generally forfeits it.
- Escalation clause
- An offer term that automatically increases your bid up to a cap if competing offers appear. Common in bidding wars.
- FARE Act
- The 2024 NYC law (effective June 2025) making whoever hires a rental broker pay that broker — ending the tenant-paid fee for landlord-hired brokers.
- Flip tax
- A transfer fee charged by a co-op building when a unit sells, commonly 1–3% and usually paid by the seller. Each building sets its own; it funds reserves.
- Guarantor
- A person (typically earning 80× the monthly rent, often required to be tri-state) or institution who guarantees your lease if your income falls short of the 40× convention.
- HDFC co-op
- An affordable co-op with income caps and resale restrictions in exchange for below-market prices. The rules vary by building and are strict — read before offering.
- Maintenance
- The monthly fee paid by co-op shareholders. Includes the building’s property tax and any underlying mortgage — which is why it looks higher than condo common charges.
- Mansion tax
- A buyer-paid tax of 1–3.9% on residential purchases of $1,000,000 and above, applied to the full price. The reason so many deals close at $999,999.
- Mortgage recording tax
- A tax of 1.8–1.925% of the loan amount on condo and townhouse mortgages. Co-op purchases are exempt — shares are not real property.
- Offering plan
- The legal document describing a condo or co-op development: finances, rules, sponsor obligations. Your attorney reads it so you don’t have to (but skim it anyway).
- Pied-à-terre
- A part-time home. Fine in most condos; restricted or banned by many co-op boards.
- Proprietary lease
- The lease a co-op corporation grants a shareholder for their unit — the document that makes a co-op apartment yours to live in.
- Rent-stabilised
- A unit whose rent increases are set annually by the Rent Guidelines Board and whose tenant has a right to renew. Roughly a million units citywide.
- Right of first refusal
- A condo’s lighter alternative to board approval: the building can buy the unit itself instead of letting your deal proceed. Almost never exercised.
- Sponsor unit
- A unit sold by the original developer/owner rather than a resident — in co-ops, often free of board approval, and priced accordingly. Buyers usually pick up extra closing costs.
- Underlying mortgage
- Debt held by a co-op corporation on the whole building, serviced through maintenance. Part of what your attorney checks in the building’s financials.