Apartment 5H at 68-37 108th Street is a fifth-floor one-bedroom co-op in The Claremont, a 1939 pre-war building of 72 units in the heart of Forest Hills, Queens. It is asking $359,000. Maintenance is $956 a month, and that figure already includes property taxes, heat, and hot water. There is no flip tax when you sell. The building requires a minimum of 20 percent down.
Those are the numbers a buyer wants first. Here is what they do not tell you.
Pre-war buildings in Forest Hills are not interchangeable with the pre-war label you see attached to anything built before 1945. The Claremont was designed in the last stretch of the 1930s, when Queens builders were still putting up apartment houses with real proportions and windows placed where the light actually falls. You feel it the moment you walk into 5H.
The apartment
The kitchen has a center island and opens directly into the dining and living space. That layout is common in new construction and rare in a building from this era, which usually means somebody did the renovation properly rather than knocking down a wall and calling it open concept.
The living area runs along a full wall of light. On the fifth floor you are above the street noise and above the tree line, so the light stays through the afternoon instead of getting cut off at two o’clock by the building across the way.
One bedroom, one bath. Not a large apartment, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. What it is instead is a well-proportioned one, which is a different and rarer thing.
What the $956 covers
Property taxes. Heat. Hot water. Water. Building staff. Common area upkeep.
Buyers see a maintenance figure sitting next to an asking price and read it as a penalty. It is not. It is your tax bill and your winter fuel bill, itemized on one line instead of arriving separately in January and February. Run your all-in monthly number as mortgage plus maintenance, then compare that to what you pay now. Most people never do that arithmetic and it is the single most useful ten minutes in the whole process.
No flip tax
This matters more than buyers realize on the way in, and a great deal more on the way out.
Plenty of Queens co-ops charge a flip tax of one to three percent of the sale price when you sell. On a $400,000 resale, two percent is $8,000 taken straight off your proceeds at the closing table. The Claremont does not charge one. Over a seven or ten year hold, that is real money you keep.
The building rules, stated plainly
Minimum 20 percent down, which caps your financing at 80 percent. The board reviews each buyer’s finances individually, so there is no published debt-to-income cutoff beyond that floor.
Subletting is permitted after you have owned and lived in the apartment for two years, with a 15 percent monthly maintenance surcharge during the sublease. That is a genuine feature. A lot of Forest Hills buildings do not allow subletting at all, which means your only exit is a sale, on the market’s timing rather than yours.
The building allows cats. It does not allow dogs. Service and support animal accommodations are handled by the board as the law requires. I would rather you know that now than three showings from now.
Where it sits
108th Street between 68th and 69th puts you a short walk from the Austin Street corridor, which is the reason people pay to live in Forest Hills in the first place. Restaurants, the shops, the Saturday foot traffic, the sense that you are in a neighborhood rather than a bedroom community with a train station attached.
The 67th Avenue station on the M and R is roughly an eleven-minute walk. Forest Hills-71st Avenue, which gives you the E, F, M, R and the Long Island Rail Road in one place, is fifteen to twenty minutes on foot, with express service into Midtown in about twenty-five minutes.
The LIRR from Forest Hills reaches Penn Station or Grand Central in about fifteen minutes. Very few neighborhoods in Queens can put four subway lines and a commuter rail station inside the same walk from your front door.
The apartment sits in New York City School District 28. Zoned schools include P.S. 196 Grand Central Parkway, J.H.S. 190 Russell Sage on Austin Street, and Forest Hills High School. School zoning changes, so confirm by exact address before you rely on it.
Who should come see it
Anyone who has been renting a one-bedroom in this neighborhood and has the down payment sitting in an account, waiting for a reason to move.
Anyone selling a house in eastern Queens or on Long Island who wants to stop maintaining a roof and a lawn without leaving the borough. A fifth-floor one-bedroom with an elevator, a doorman-free maintenance figure under a thousand dollars, and Austin Street ten minutes away is exactly what that move looks like.
Anyone who has been priced out of a comparable condo and has written off co-ops because of a board process they have never actually been through. The board is not the obstacle people say it is. A prepared package and a clean financial picture get approved.
What to bring to a showing
A pre-approval letter, or at minimum a clear sense of your down payment. Twenty percent is the floor here, and knowing whether you are at twenty or thirty changes which apartments are worth your Saturday.
Come see the light in the afternoon rather than the morning. That is when the living room does what it does, and photographs do not carry it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maintenance at 68-37 108th Street?
Maintenance for apartment 5H is $956 a month. It covers property taxes, heat, hot water, water, building staff, and common area upkeep. Buyers should compare mortgage plus maintenance as one combined monthly figure.
Is there a flip tax at The Claremont?
No. Many Queens co-ops charge a flip tax of one to three percent of the sale price when you sell, which comes out of your proceeds at closing. This building does not charge one.
How much down payment do I need to buy this Forest Hills co-op?
A minimum of 20 percent down, which caps financing at 80 percent. The board reviews each buyer’s finances individually, so a stronger application may need more. Budget for closing costs on top of the down payment.
Can you sublet an apartment at 68-37 108th Street?
Yes, after you have owned and lived in the apartment for two years. A 15 percent monthly maintenance surcharge applies during the sublease. Many Forest Hills co-ops do not permit subletting at all, so this is a meaningful advantage.
Does the building allow pets?
Cats are allowed. Dogs are not. Service and support animal accommodations are handled by the board as the law requires.
How far is the apartment from the subway?
The 67th Avenue station on the M and R is about an 11-minute walk. Forest Hills-71st Avenue, serving the E, F, M, R and the Long Island Rail Road, is 15 to 20 minutes on foot. Express service reaches Midtown in roughly 25 minutes, and the LIRR reaches Penn Station or Grand Central in about 15 minutes.
What schools serve 68-37 108th Street?
The address sits in New York City School District 28. Zoned schools include P.S. 196 Grand Central Parkway, J.H.S. 190 Russell Sage, and Forest Hills High School. Confirm current zoning by exact address before relying on it.
Have a question about your home or your next move in Queens or on Long Island? I answer them every day. Call or text me at 347-612-2964, or schedule a consultation.
Claudia Looi
Real estate agent in Elmhurst, Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Jackson Heights, and in Deer Park and West Islip on Long Island
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, SRS, ABR, SFR
Keller Williams Landmark II
Cell: 347-612-2964
Schedule a consultation: https://claudialooi.com/consultation/