Condop
Encyclopedia
A condop in real estate is a term for a residential establishment (building
or portion of a building) that includes both a condominium
and cooperative
ownership structure. Typically the condop refers to the residential portion of a building which is treated as a single condominium unit owned through a cooperative ownership structure.
The term may also refer to a cooperative
that behaves like a condominium
.
The term is a contraction of the words condominium
and co-op
.
Typically, in a condop, the structure was used to separate the residential component from the commercial components. Often, this can be advantageous for the developer or sponsor to retain ownership of the non-residential space in a building.
for prospective purchasers and do not include many of the restrictive measures that impact prospective purchasers of cooperative apartments. The bylaws for condops typically do not include the need for board approval to sell or sublet an apartment. Additionally, restrictions on alterations to the apartment are more consistent with condos than cooperatives.
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
or portion of a building) that includes both a condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
and cooperative
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
ownership structure. Typically the condop refers to the residential portion of a building which is treated as a single condominium unit owned through a cooperative ownership structure.
The term may also refer to a cooperative
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
that behaves like a condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
.
The term is a contraction of the words condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
and co-op
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
.
History
Condops first came into use in the 1960s and were employed by developers that wanted to divest their residential units at a time when condominiums were not yet in popular in major cities, particularly New York. The condop (as strictly defined) is still a relatively rare item in the US. For example as of 2007, New York City had fewer than 300 condop buildings as compared to more than 6,700 cooperatives and 2,300 condominiums, representing just over 3% of residential buildings.Strict definition (Ownership)
The condop is a hybrid ownership structure. Typically a condominium differs from a cooperative in that residents of a condominium directly own their apartments whereas residents in a cooperative own shares in a corporation that owns the building and a right to use a specific apartment in the building. Condops blur the distinction between the two concepts as the cooperative corporation does not own a whole building but just the residential condominium space within it.Typically, in a condop, the structure was used to separate the residential component from the commercial components. Often, this can be advantageous for the developer or sponsor to retain ownership of the non-residential space in a building.
Common usage (Operational)
The cooperative portion of the condop is effectively no different than any cooperative building that contains only residential units. However, in real estate vernacular, the term condop is often also used to refer to a cooperative that behaves like a condominium or a "co-op with condo rules". In these situations, unlike a traditional conventional cooperative, the bylaws in a condop will more closely resemble the rules of a condominium rather than a cooperative. Typically condops will set out a lower required down paymentDown payment
Down payment is a payment used in the context of the purchase of expensive items such as a car and a house, whereby the payment is the initial upfront portion of the total amount due and it is usually given in cash at the time of finalizing the transaction.A loan is then required to make the full...
for prospective purchasers and do not include many of the restrictive measures that impact prospective purchasers of cooperative apartments. The bylaws for condops typically do not include the need for board approval to sell or sublet an apartment. Additionally, restrictions on alterations to the apartment are more consistent with condos than cooperatives.