[TheMole]

Even an attached single-family home (townhouse) doesn't require $500 maintenance fees, negotiations with building managers or co-owners if it's not a condo (most around here are not).

I don't understand what you're trying to say. Here's the data directly from the real estate listings in the story itself:

140 W. 69th St.
Square feet: 250
Price: $139,000
Maintenance: $505 a month

113½ W. 15th St.
Square feet: 220
Price: $130,000
Maintenance: $433 a month

Whether or not the buildings are structured as condominiums, these are non-negotiable fees that are not part of the mortgage and must be paid.

[nopardons]

And the property tax IS included in the maintainence. At least that's the way it was, when I owned an apartment in Manhattan.

[brianl703]

They are structured as condominiums (at least in the legal definition of the term) if the owner does not own the land under the unit. The properties described in the article appear to be condominiums, and that would explain why they have maintenance fees.