I asked him about that. He stated that he owned the condo and paid the mortgage. I want to know if his mom has to contribute part of her Social Security to that mortgage or 'expenses.'
If it's NYC and an older building, which it looked like from the one part of a video I saw, it's a co-op, not a condo. A co-op is a uniquely NYC entity, and more complicated than a condo. Many more rules and regulations than a condo. and most boards are much tougher than condo boards or management about who the approve and what they allow to go on. Most NYC buildings older than 10 years are co-ops, condos are relatively new to the scene in NYC.
The short distinction is with a condo, you own the physical apartment or premises. In a co-op, you own a proportion of shares in a cooperative corporation that in turn owns the physical premises. You do NOT own your own walls, floors, etc. you only own shares. So most times you need to get approval for renovations for anything more than paint or redecorating.
They are more protected, or more of a pain in the petunias depending on what you want from them.
I other words, if he lives in a co-op, he needs to watch out for being destructive or causing problems, probably moreso than if he lived in a condo. Just saying... and just fyi.