There are a number of reasons for wanting to buy a home over renting and most are valid. Some people want to buy because their current rental unit may have restrictions on owning a pet, while home ownership would, in most cases, not have this limitation. Others want to diversify their assets beyond the stock market. Still others may be pressured by friends and family – loved ones may claim you are simply throwing your money away if you rent, but with owning, you could be building equity every month.

Is this really true?

After months of looking at listings, going to open houses, and getting into bidding wars, you finally get an offer accepted to buy your "dream" NYC co-op. You've crunched the numbers and think the purchase price and resulting monthly payment (maintenance + mortgage) is reasonable. But not so fast. Here are 10 questions you should ask and get answers to before signing the contract and putting down the 10%.