Written by Bill Morris on July 02, 2013
In an ideal world, the co-op sponsor or condominium developer steadily sells off apartments until control of the building goes to the residents and their elected board of directors. Trouble tends to arise when a sponsor / developer retains ownership of a significant number of apartments long after conversion or construction. And typically, a strong sponsor presence on the condo or co-op board brings a litany of problems — lower values because of the prevalence of rental apartments; increased wear and tear on the building because of rental-unit turnover; difficulty in refinancing mortgages for shareholders or unit-owners; and trouble securing mortgage financing for prospective buyers.