Inman Real Estate News - Condos: the good, the bad, the ugly
Thanks to Shu Bartholomew for the link to this promo for a book, "Tips and Traps When Buying a Condo, Co-op, or Townhouse, Second Edition" by Robert Irwin. Here's an interesting excerpt:

This ultra-complete book uses many pages warning about the negatives of cooperative apartment buildings, found mostly in New York, Chicago, Florida and a few California cities. The huge negative of the board of directors' inquisition approval or disapproval of prospective co-op buyers and renters, Irwin warns, holds down the market value of co-ops compared to equivalent condominiums that do not require approval of prospective buyers. As the current and previous owner of several condominiums, Irwin shamelessly shows his battle scars from dealing with boards of directors and architectural committees. He warns condo buyers to read the CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions), by-laws and rules before purchase, but don't think you can change these limitations after you buy.