344 West 11th Street

The 41 apartments are spread unevenly across the five buildings. The corner building and the two Washington Street buildings are five-story walk-ups; apartments in the corner building are lettered by exposure, east and west. The 340 West 11th Street row house and the rear building are three stories and hold the cooperative's smaller apartments. Share-transfer records show apartments combined across a floor — at 344 West 11th Street the second-floor east and west apartments now trade as one home — and DOB filings show steady interior renovation across the buildings over the past twenty years.

Rooms are those of nineteenth-century walk-up buildings: modest ceiling heights compared with loft stock, with windows on the street façades and the rear yards. Where an apartment sits in the group matters more than its floor. A corner apartment on West 11th, a Washington Street apartment behind the cast-iron front, and an apartment in the rear building are three different products, even though they are in the same cooperative.

The ground floor at the corner holds the corporation's one commercial unit, a restaurant per the financial statements on file.

Per the audited financial statements for 2020 and 2021, the corporation refinanced in November 2020 into an interest-only mortgage at 3.125 percent, maturing December 1, 2030, and set up a revolving line of credit that was undrawn at year-end 2021. Because the loan is interest-only, the full principal is due at maturity. The refinancing is the most important fact in this building's finances. A buyer should know the corporation's plan for 2030, and what rates would need to be for maintenance to hold.

The reserve fund stood near $1 million at year-end 2021. It had been higher; it was drawn down to pay for roof and stair repairs of close to $500,000, completed in 2021. The board contracted to replace 34 windows the same year, and a 2023 offering plan amendment reports a plumbing project, funded from reserves, to install backflow preventers and booster pumps. Maintenance went up about 4 to 5 percent a year from 2020 through 2023, with a temporary fuel assessment in 2023, and the board levies an annual operating assessment that roughly matches the co-op tax abatement credited to eligible shareholders.

The commercial lease is the other structural fact. The ground-floor tenant's lease began in 1985 and gives the tenant seven successive twelve-year renewal options, with fixed rent step-ups at each renewal plus pass-throughs for taxes, fuel and repairs above 1985 levels. The current term runs to November 2031. While the options last, the corporation cannot re-price the space to market.

Flip tax: 1% of the sale price, paid by the seller, per the audited financial statements.

Pets: The house rules require the board's written permission for any animal. The rules say that permission will not be unreasonably withheld, and it can be revoked for cause.

Subletting: Permitted with board approval; the corporation collects sublet fees. Seasoning requirements, term limits and the fee schedule are not in the documents reviewed — confirm with the managing agent.

Board process: The purchase application asks whether the apartment will be the buyer's primary residence and whether any of the down payment is borrowed or a gift, and it reserves the board's right to an interview. The documents reviewed do not state a maximum financing percentage, a post-closing liquidity requirement, or a pied-à-terre, trust or LLC policy. Get these from the managing agent before you offer.

Recent sales

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-00633-0006) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price.

Model the 2030 maturity. The underlying mortgage is interest-only and due in December 2030. Ask the managing agent for the board's refinancing plan and apply a higher rate to the corporation's debt service to see what it would do to your maintenance.

Know which building you are buying into. Five buildings share one cooperative's budget, roof program and façade cycle. A buyer in the rear building helps pay for the Washington Street cornices and the corner building's parapet. Keeping five nineteenth-century masonry buildings in repair is a recurring cost, and the 2021 roof, stair and window work shows its scale.

The flip tax is low. A 1% seller-paid transfer fee is at the light end for Manhattan co-ops, which is good for sellers and helps resale.

Expect Landmarks review. Windows, storefronts and anything visible from the street need LPC approval. The board contracted for 34 replacement windows in 2021, so window specifications for the buildings were set recently; ask what was approved so work in your apartment matches.

The sponsor stake is small and shrinking. About 10% of shares were held by the holder of unsold shares at the end of 2021, down from 13% a year earlier, and resident shareholders control the board. Some lenders review sponsor concentration; at this level it is unlikely to be an obstacle. Run the Co-op Board Qualification Calculator once you have the maintenance figure.

Lead with the corner and the district. An 1890 corner building and a pair of 1871 Second Empire buildings with cast-iron fronts, inside the 1969 historic district, are a strong story. Name the building your apartment is in.

Get ahead of the mortgage question. Buyers' attorneys will find the 2030 interest-only maturity. Having the most recent financial statements and the board's stated plan ready shortens attorney review.

Price the specific building in the group. Combined corner apartments, Washington Street apartments and rear-building apartments do not share a comparable set. Price against the right one.

If you're considering 344 West 11th Street, also evaluate:

• 323 West 11th Street — three 1897 walk-up buildings in one cooperative on the same block of West 11th, also in the historic district
• 725 Greenwich Street — walk-up, multi-building garden cooperative a few blocks south
• 571 Hudson Street — 1892 walk-up cooperative with a ground-floor commercial unit, at Hudson and West 11th
• 79 Perry Street — small five-story walk-up cooperative one block south
• 708 Greenwich Street — small early-twentieth-century West Village cooperative
• 270 West 11th Street — 1915 cooperative farther east on West 11th Street
• 344 West 12th Street — 1928 cooperative one block north
• 377 West 11th Street — loft cooperative at the river end of West 11th; the loft-scale alternative