Offering Plan
The disclosure document a sponsor must file with the New York Attorney General before selling co-op shares or condo units, laying out prices, projected monthly costs, the building's budget, and the governing documents.
Last updated: October 3, 2026When a developer (the “sponsor”) sells new condo units or converts a rental building to a co-op, New York requires it to put the deal in writing first: an offering plan filed with the Attorney General’s office (the Department of Law). The state’s regulations dictate the plan’s format in detail, from what goes on the cover to how the first-year budget is footnoted. The plan has to set out all the material terms of the offer, and it can be changed later only by amendments filed with the Department of Law and served on buyers. Filed plans and amendments are searchable in the AG’s Offering Plan Database.
What the AG does not do is bless the price. Plans must state outright that prices are not subject to approval by the Department of Law or any other government agency, and the cover carries a boldface warning that the Attorney General strongly urges you to read the plan carefully and consult an attorney before signing. Filing means the disclosures are there, not that the deal is a good one.
The useful parts for a buyer are the schedules. For a new condo, Schedule A lists each unit’s price, projected monthly common charges and real estate taxes for the first year, and the total projected monthly carrying cost. The plan must also say whether the building will have a working capital fund or reserve fund, how much, and whether buyers contribute (see working capital contribution). Co-op conversion plans add the building’s mortgage terms, including the amount per share and any balloon due at maturity (see underlying mortgage).
Worked example
If a new condo’s certificate for a real estate tax benefit (the rule names programs like 421-a and J-51) hasn’t been obtained when the plan is accepted for filing, Schedule A must show two tax columns: one with the benefits and one without. Suppose a hypothetical unit’s Schedule A shows $1,000 a month in projected common charges and either $300 a month in taxes with benefits or $1,100 without. Projected carrying cost is $1,300 a month in the first case and $2,100 in the second: an $800-a-month ($9,600-a-year) gap riding on paperwork you don’t control, which is why the plan has to flag it as a risk. Run both versions through the Condo Calculator, and see the 485-x guide for how the tax break that replaced 421-a works.