By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass
 

TL;DR:

The difference that matters most isn't board rules or square footage — it's financing. Condominium projects have to meet lending criteria for buyers to obtain conventional mortgages, and a project that doesn't qualify narrows the buyer pool to cash and portfolio lenders, which changes both price and timeline. That's the first thing a condo seller should establish. Single-family sellers face none of it and instead carry the full weight of condition and permits themselves. One clarification worth stating up front: a condominium board does not approve buyers. It may hold a right of first refusal, which is a different mechanism entirely.

The Financing Question Comes First

For a Bayside condo seller, this determines more than anything else about the sale, and most sellers have never heard of it.

When a buyer seeks a conventional mortgage on a condominium, the lender evaluates the project, not only the borrower. Criteria typically include the ratio of owner-occupied to investor-owned units, whether any single entity owns too large a share, the adequacy of reserve funding, the association's budget and delinquency rate, and whether the association is involved in litigation.

A project meeting those criteria is generally financeable on conventional terms. A project that doesn't is what lenders call non-warrantable, and the consequence is significant: buyers are limited to cash or to portfolio lenders offering less favorable terms.

That narrows the buyer pool substantially and it shows up as a price effect. A seller who doesn't know their project's status finds out when a buyer's financing falls through weeks into the transaction.

The practical step: ask the association or managing agent whether the project has been reviewed for agency eligibility and what the current occupancy ratio and reserve position look like. Where something has changed — a large investor purchase, new litigation, a reserve drawn down by a major repair — it's worth knowing before listing rather than discovering through a failed loan.

Single-family sellers face none of this. A buyer's lender evaluates the borrower and the property, and there's no project to qualify.

What a Condo Board Can and Cannot Do

Worth stating clearly because the two ownership forms get confused constantly.

A condominium board does not approve or reject buyers. What many condominium declarations provide is a right of first refusal — the board, on behalf of the association, may elect to purchase the unit on the same terms as the accepted offer, within a defined window. If it declines, the sale proceeds.

Practically, boards exercise this rarely. What it does cost is time — typically a matter of weeks while the board reviews and issues a waiver, which the buyer's attorney will require before closing. That's a scheduling item rather than an obstacle, and it should be built into the timeline from the start.

Co-operative apartments work differently, with a genuine board approval process and different transfer mechanics. They're a separate ownership form and outside what this covers — anyone selling one should discuss the process with their attorney.

The Documents a Condo Seller Must Produce

A condominium sale requires a package the association or managing agent prepares, and it takes longer than sellers expect.

Typically included: the declaration and bylaws, current budget and financial statements, reserve information, the certificate of insurance, minutes of recent meetings, and a statement of the seller's account showing common charges paid through.

Two practical points. Managing agents charge for this and turnaround varies — a week is common, longer is not unusual. And the buyer's lender reviews it, which is where warrantability problems surface if they haven't already.

Request the package early, before listing if possible. A delay here delays the closing, and it's entirely avoidable.

Special assessments deserve specific attention. Any assessment that has been levied, or that is under discussion by the board, is material to a buyer and belongs in the conversation early rather than emerging from the minutes during due diligence.

How Buyers Qualify Differently

One financial mechanic affects what a condo can sell for, and it's invisible to most sellers.

Common charges count against a buyer's debt-to-income ratio the same way a mortgage payment does. A buyer qualified for a given monthly obligation has less room for principal and interest once the common charge is counted.

The consequence: two similarly priced units in different buildings can be reachable by different buyers depending on the monthly charge. A higher charge narrows the qualifying pool at a given price, which is worth understanding when pricing.

Single-family buyers face taxes and insurance in that calculation but no association charge — which is part of why the same buyer can often reach a higher price on a house than on a condominium.

What the Single-Family Seller Carries Instead

The trade runs the other way on condition and compliance.

Everything is the seller's. Roof, heating, electrical, plumbing, exterior, grounds — a buyer's inspector examines all of it and a condominium seller answers for far less.

Permits are the seller's problem entirely. Bayside falls under the New York City Department of Buildings, and the area's pre-war and mid-century housing stock has been altered extensively. An open permit or a converted space without a certificate of occupancy amendment surfaces in the buyer's municipal searches after contracts are signed. DOB records are publicly searchable, so checking before listing costs nothing — and it's the most common expensive surprise in a Bayside single-family sale. The full treatment of what to fix before listing covers the sorting.

Presentation carries more weight, because a single-family buyer is evaluating a whole property rather than a unit within a managed building.

What Doesn't Change

Both property types share the same New York framework, and it's substantial.

Pricing works identically — buyers filter by band, and a property above its comp set is filtered out rather than rejected. The pricing framework applies to both.

Disclosure applies to both. The Property Condition Disclosure Statement has been mandatory since the March 20, 2024 amendment — 56 questions, with the prior five hundred dollar credit alternative eliminated. The full treatment of what the form asks covers how to answer it.

New York is an attorney state for both. Contract drafting and negotiation are legal work reserved to licensed counsel, and acceptance of an offer binds nobody until both attorneys have negotiated and both parties signed.

Both pay the same transfer taxes. The New York State Transfer Tax at four dollars per thousand, plus the New York City Real Property Transfer Tax at roughly 1.425 percent on sales at or above $500,000 — the Queens distinction covered in the full breakdown of Bayside closing costs.

Buyer-agent compensation is a decision for both. Negotiated per offer since August 17, 2024 rather than posted.

A Worked Example

Consider a composite case — a Bayside seller with a condominium unit, planning to list in about eight weeks.

She asked the managing agent two questions before anything else: whether the project had been reviewed for agency eligibility, and what the current owner-occupancy ratio was. The answer surfaced a problem — a recent increase in investor-owned units had brought the ratio close to a threshold, and one lender had already declined a loan in the building that spring.

That changed her approach materially. She priced with the constraint in mind rather than discovering it through a failed financing contingency, and her agent marketed with the situation understood rather than concealed.

She also requested the resale package early. It took nine days, which would have been nine days added to a closing if she'd waited.

The right of first refusal added two weeks to the timeline. The board waived, as it nearly always does.

Where to Start

Condo sellers: ask the association or managing agent about agency eligibility, the owner-occupancy ratio, reserve position, and any litigation. Request the resale package early. Find out what the right of first refusal window is. Disclose any levied or contemplated special assessment.

Single-family sellers: search the property's DOB record and engage an attorney before listing.

Both: build the comp set on the right property type, complete the disclosure form carefully, and decide the compensation question before offers arrive. A quiet look at current value is a starting point.

The Honest Bottom Line

The real difference isn't rules or square footage — it's who can buy the property.

A condominium seller's outcome depends substantially on whether their project qualifies for conventional financing, and that's a question with an answer they can get in a phone call. A single-family seller has no project to worry about and instead carries every condition and permit question alone.

Neither is harder. They're different, and knowing which set of questions applies is most of the work. For anyone weighing what their specific property involves, with no pressure attached, that conversation is available whenever the timing suits.

This is general information, not legal or lending advice. Association documents, lending criteria, and governing provisions vary by project and change. Consult a licensed New York real estate attorney and confirm project eligibility with the association and a mortgage professional.

FAQs

Does a condo board have to approve my buyer?

No — that's a co-operative feature, and the two get confused constantly. A condominium board does not approve or reject buyers. What many declarations provide is a right of first refusal: the board may elect to purchase the unit on the same terms as the accepted offer within a defined window, and if it declines, the sale proceeds. Boards exercise this rarely. What it costs is time, typically a few weeks while the board reviews and issues a waiver that the buyer's attorney will require before closing.

What makes a condo harder to sell than a single-family home?

Financing, more than anything else. A buyer's lender evaluates the project as well as the borrower — owner-occupancy ratio, single-entity ownership limits, reserve adequacy, budget and delinquency, and pending litigation. A project that doesn't meet agency criteria is non-warrantable, which limits buyers to cash or portfolio lenders on less favorable terms and narrows the pool substantially. Ask the association about eligibility before listing rather than discovering it through a failed financing contingency.

What documents does a condo seller need to provide?

A resale package prepared by the association or managing agent, typically including the declaration and bylaws, current budget and financial statements, reserve information, certificate of insurance, recent meeting minutes, and a statement of the seller's account. Managing agents charge for this and turnaround varies — a week is common and longer isn't unusual. Request it early, because the buyer's lender reviews it and a delay here delays the closing. Any levied or contemplated special assessment belongs in the conversation early.

Do common charges affect what my condo can sell for?

Yes, through buyer qualification. Common charges count against a buyer's debt-to-income ratio the same way a mortgage payment does, so a buyer approved for a given monthly obligation has less room for principal and interest once the charge is counted. Two similarly priced units in different buildings can therefore be reachable by different buyers depending on the monthly charge. A higher charge narrows the qualifying pool at a given price, which matters when setting one.

What do single-family sellers face that condo sellers don't?

Everything about the physical property, and the permit question entirely. Roof, heating, electrical, plumbing, exterior, and grounds are all the seller's, and a buyer's inspector examines all of it. Bayside falls under the New York City Department of Buildings, and the area's older housing stock has been altered extensively — an open permit or a converted space without a certificate of occupancy amendment surfaces in municipal searches after contracts are signed. DOB records are publicly searchable, so checking before listing costs nothing.

By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass

Eric Berman | Long Island & Queens Associate Broker | Compass
1468 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, NY 11030
(917) 225-8596 | eric@ericbermanre.com | theericbermanteam.com