NYC Apartment buildings can be divided into a few types.

Co-ops

Cooperative housing has been used to meet the variety of needs and has many benefits and is a form of multifamily home-ownership.

Co-op apartments or a housing cooperative can be a townhouse or a medium size apartment building, that is leased to the person who is buying into what is usually known as a limited liability corporation (LLC) – the owner of the building. Once these shares are purchased, doing anything illegal or renting co-op apartment not in favor of the corporation can cause a trouble.

Originally, co-ops were thought an excellent solution to the owners of buildings who were willing to get out of the rental market, especially in New York City.

Many tenants  who live in co-ops having varied incomes and different backgrounds, choose to remain renters of co-ops, because it costs less rather than buying an apartment.

It’s important to mention, that the co-op buildings are very restrictive regarding roommates, pets and the lease length. Also most co-ops limit or forbid subletting.

There’s a good amount of  pre-war buildings in New York City that are considered to be co-op buildings.

Studios

Studio apartments typically consist of a big room, which includes dining room and shared sitting/sleeping area. Studio apartments buildings are likely to be the smallest houses with the cheapest rental fee.

Condos

Another type of rental building is condominium or condo. For most Americans owning or living in the rental condo has been a yardstick for measuring personal success and achievement. Investing money in a condo can be a good investment opportunity for the right person at the right time. The main goal is to find a condo that offers most for the best price. You can also sublet a condo from the owner.

Condo buildings can take many forms structurally: high rise condominiums, mid-rise, garden style condos, townhouse style condominiums,etc.

In past few years condominiums have increased more in value than townhouses and other types of rental buildings accordingly to National Association of Realtors, and became more popular with first-time buyers.