Real Estate with Anessa Cohen

When it comes to various lifestyles, everyone’s comfort zone is different. Those who own their single-family home basically live life the way they choose in the comfort of their home without any rules other than those they create themselves within their own bubble.

But what happens when, after years of being able to follow the particular lifestyle that suits them within the walls of their own home, these same homeowners buy a second home in the form of a condo, or sell their home to downsize to an apartment within a co-operative development? It’s a lesson in what I like to call “co-op lifestyle shock” for those who are not used to having to deal with the politics and sensitivities that are included in co-op ownership.

When homeowners downsize to an apartment in a co-op (the house rules for condo living are similar to this as well), usually they are coming from a lifestyle of a private home, where the only thing they need to think about indoors is what works for them. When considering their neighbors, they basically only need to address issues arising from things that occur outside on the property, not on the inside (except possibly in the case of loud noise or music late into the night).

Moving to a co-op or condo means living in an apartment that’s generally adjacent to other apartments and above or below additional apartments, which means that the families in these individual units are also sharing walls, floors, and common spaces with each other — a situation completely different from one family living in a house, isolated from anyone else’s space.

This also means that any noises someone would not even think about when living in a one-family home can potentially be a problem in an apartment layout if not addressed.

Many co-op and condo boards try to address these possible issues upfront by creating house rules which itemize how each tenant/owner should live within their unit and the common areas of the development.

For instance, most developments require that tenant owners carpet at least 75% of their apartment floors so as to lessen the noise of walking or rolling items on floors, noises that, unfortunately, are enhanced when on wood or raw flooring and echo to the adjacent apartments.

The house rules might also address the usage of common space, such as how and where certain storage items may be placed, or possibly under what conditions storage space is allotted.

House rules have become the safest and most diplomatic way of trying to maintain sensitivity to all lifestyles within a development so everyone feels they have quiet enjoyment of their living space. However, it’s a part of the transition to apartment living that does take some getting used to for those coming from single-family homes.

Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is a licensed real-estate broker (Anessa V Cohen Realty) and a licensed N.Y.S. loan officer (FM Home Loans) with over 20 years of experience offering full-service residential, commercial, and management real-estate services as well as mortgage services. She can be reached at 516-569-5007 or via her website, www.AVCrealty.com. Readers are encouraged to send questions or comments to anessa@AVCrealty.com.

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