Why did your co-op maintenance go up?

What does your maintenance pay for?

Everything it costs to run the cooperative: the building's real estate taxes; the interest and principal on the underlying mortgage, if there is one; payroll for the building's staff; fuel, energy, water and sewer; insurance; repairs, maintenance and service contracts; the managing agent's fee; professional fees; and a contribution to reserves for future capital work. The board sets a budget for those costs, and what the budget needs from owners is shared among the apartments by their shares.

Where should you look first?

Real estate taxes. The building's own tax bill. Ask what it was, what it is now, and why it changed.

The underlying mortgage. If it was refinanced or its rate reset, the payments can change, up or down. Ask the rate, the payment, and when the loan matures.

Payroll, where the building has staff: wages and benefits for the superintendent, porters, doormen and others. Ask whether a new contract, a new position or overtime explains a rise.

Insurance. The cooperative's own policies can change sharply at renewal. Ask what the premiums were, what they are now, and whether the cover or the deductible changed.

Fuel and energy. Heating fuel or gas, and electricity for the common areas.

The reserve contribution — money set aside for future capital work, such as the roof, the facade, the boiler or the elevators.

Anything new, or called miscellaneous or other. A new line is not necessarily wrong. It is always worth a question.

What is the underlying mortgage?

A cooperative may carry a mortgage on the whole building, separate from any loan an owner took out to buy their shares. Its payments are part of maintenance. When it comes up for renewal or refinancing, the payments can change, up or down. Ask when it matures, at what rate, and what the board plans.

Is an assessment the same as a rise in maintenance?

No. An assessment is a separate charge on top of your maintenance, for a particular cost — facade or roof work the reserves cannot cover, for example. It may be due at once or spread over a set number of months. Ask what it pays for, how the total was worked out, how it is shared among the apartments, and whether the reserves could have covered any of it.

What can you ask the board?

Your maintenance funds the cooperative, so you can reasonably ask how it is spent. Put your questions in writing, and keep them specific:

• which lines rose, and why;
• the real estate tax bill, and any change in it;
• the underlying mortgage's terms, and any plan to refinance;
• what capital work the reserves are being built up for;
• how last year's budget compared with what was actually spent — the year-end financial statements show that.

Should you stop paying while you ask?

No. Asking about a charge and not paying it are two different things. Keep paying, and put your questions in writing.

What does Synclair do?

Synclair sets out the cooperative's annual budget and year-end financial statement line by line, and shows what the figures say. Each budget line sits beside last year's figure where the budget prints one, and a year-end financial statement for the same fiscal year can be set beside the budget. These are the cooperative's own figures, not amounts worked out for your apartment. If you're paying for a service you aren't receiving, you can record it, and it stays on record with a date. If something needs raising, Synclair can draft a letter for you to check and send in your own name, and once it's sent you can record the reply and the outcome.

Only owners pay for Synclair: never managers, insurers or suppliers.

One document is enough to start. It is free for three months, for one property, and the three months begin when your first analysis is ready — not when you sign up. There is one free period for each email address.

Documents for a property in California or New York State are uploaded from an account: sign up, then upload the annual budget or the year-end financial statement.

See a worked example→