Roof rights - how to add to sale/Build deck

I own the roof rights of a condo and have been in the process of planning a deck for a while. Your attorney can handle the ownership of the roof rights when creating the condo papers. The secondary question is who owns the air rights, if any.

To build a deck, you will need an architect or an engineer (or both) to sign off on plans that need to be approved by the DOB. there are very specific rules on the construction of the deck (placement, materials, railings, etc.). If your building is on a landmarked street, then the approvals may take a while and there may be addtional restrictions.

The costs to build a deck, all in, are generally around $50 per square foot. But we found the greatest cost would be creating access to the deck (we have been quoted around $25,000 for stairs and a bulkhead).

Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 12:45 PM

Original poster here - Thank you! Did you buy your roof rights with your condo without the approved plans already on the condo offering? Do you own the air rights? Man - so confusing. I'm just trying to figure out what I need to do to make it more attractive (and easier if possible) on the buyer of our unit. It seems it would be great for them if we have the approved plans already in place... but I don't know if that is possible.

Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 2:51 PM

just curious, 2:45, does your $50/square foot estimate include the stairs you are talking about?

Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 3:45 PM

Do you own the roof rights now? The roof is probably a common element so anything you do would require board approval. If the roof is relatively new you don't want to do anything that could jeopardize any roof warranty. For example, some warranties will not allow you to have anything resting on the roof which means you might have pocket into beams and the parapet. A structural engineer can help determine the live and dead loads the roof can bear and what types of materials fit into those parameters.

I would suggest that the first step should be speaking with the board even informally to get an idea of what might be feasible. You don't want to spend money on an engineer if it will be for naught.

Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 3:56 PM

12:45 here. The roof rights were part of the condo I bought. It's spelled out in the condo papers. To go condo, you will absolutely need a lawyer, and the lawyer will spell out the property delineations in the condo plan. My paperwork did not spell out who owns the air rights, it simply states I have a right to build a deck (no matter, the building is built out to the maximum FAR).

Selling the condo with roof rights definitely increases the value of the unit.

Hope this helps.

Posted by: guest at October 31, 2007 9:38 AM