Condo, co-op or two-family: what you are actually buying in Hudson County

Listings in Hudson County say "condo", "co-op" or "two-family" as if everyone knows the difference. Most people do not, and the difference decides your monthly cost, your paperwork, and what you can do with the place. Here is the short version I give clients on the first drive.

Condo: you own the unit, you share the building

Most of what you see in the newer buildings on the waterfront, and most converted brownstones Downtown, are condominiums. You own your unit outright and a share of the common areas. A condo association, run by the owners, collects a monthly fee to maintain the building, insure it, and put money aside for the roof and the elevator.

What to ask: What is the monthly fee and what does it include? How much is in the reserve fund? Is there a special assessment planned or being discussed? What do the last two years of minutes say? A low fee is not a bargain if the reserve is empty.

Co-op: you own shares, the corporation owns the building

Co-ops are rarer in New Jersey than across the river, but Hudson County has them, mostly in older buildings. You do not own real estate; you own shares in a corporation and a lease on your apartment. The board approves buyers, sets rules about subletting, and can require larger down payments.

What to ask: What does the board require from a buyer? Is subletting allowed at all? What is the underlying mortgage on the building, because you are paying part of it in your maintenance? Co-ops can be very good value precisely because fewer people understand them; they are also the wrong fit for anyone who might need to rent the place out.

Two-family: you are a homeowner and a landlord

The Heights, Bergen-Lafayette, Bayonne and the west side of Hoboken are full of two- and three-family houses. You live in one unit, rent the others, and the rent helps carry the mortgage. It is the classic Hudson County way to afford a house.

What to ask: Are the units legal, with certificates of occupancy? Are there tenants now, and on what leases? New Jersey protects tenants strongly, and an existing tenant does not leave because the house sold. Who handles the boiler at two in the morning? If the honest answer is "you", price that into the decision.

The question under all of it

Before condo or co-op or two-family, decide how long you plan to stay and whether you might ever need to rent the place out. Those two answers rule out one of the three almost every time, and they are far more useful than a list of amenities.