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I just received a letter to get on the waiting list for a 2 bedroom. Do they typically ask you to have the whole amount? or can you pay a percentage, say like 10% and get a loan for the rest? I don't know anything about the lottery process or buying a coop.
st James tower is a million dollar building compared to its other buildings. I live in Pratt towers which is a dump compared to st James tower. Neighborhood just completed its gentrification process by opening a Starbucks right on grand and Lafayette.
Buy in is high but st James tower building is in great shape and they take really good care of the building, I get jealous sometimes walking past it knowing Pratt towers will probably never look as nice as st James.
When I went to drop the application they said you must have the whole amount. Time to start saving! but who knows how long it will be. -_- The woman said they sent out 500 applications for the 2br apartments alone.
Hey everyone, I got in the St. James Towers lottery late last year and am going through the HPD review now. I finally found time to register for this forum and want to share what I know so far. So yes, the St. James list is moving!
Last year I got a letter stating my log # was 10. Late November 2019 I got my letter saying an apartment was available, and everything went into motion. The shock of getting a low log # and getting called so fast has been surreal, so wanted to share here what I've experienced.
First off I'm a freelancer and got some conflicting information from the St. James building management about income limits for one person, and how they determine income. When I went for my appointment the building mgt. had me provide 3 years of returns and said everything looked good and they'd take the average income from that.
They also said once you get approved by HPD, you have about 2 weeks to get your full amount of money in, new tenants have to buy a refrigerator and stove, etc. They looked over everything and said it looked like my information was all set, so I scheduled the home visit and waited to get contacted.
Last week they had me come in to sign more papers. One was about an overage charge, and the other was a form stating that I'd only be living in the building. I got a call today with a message to call HPD, and things got a little dark.
The person I talked to at HPD (the first person reviewing my application) told me that they don't look at 3 years of income for freelancers, they only look at the AGI from the previous tax year's return, and don't average out income. That's a major drag to hear since my income varies from year to year, but I'm glad I finally got an answer.
Long story short I don't think I'm going to get the apartment since my income from last year is over the limit for one person. The guy I talked to said another person at HPD has to review my application so it's not a dead deal yet, but I don't have my hopes up. He said I could appeal if I do get rejected, but that would only keep me on the waiting list, it wouldn't hold the apartment for me.
In any case it seems like a really nice building inside and if I don't get the apartment, I hope it goes to the next person on the list quickly. I was lucky enough to get on the Gouveneur Gardens list also, so all is not lost LOL. Good luck to everyone on a list!
Hey everyone, I got in the St. James Towers lottery late last year and am going through the HPD review now. I finally found time to register for this forum and want to share what I know so far. So yes, the St. James list is moving!
Last year I got a letter stating my log # was 10. Late November 2019 I got my letter saying an apartment was available, and everything went into motion. The shock of getting a low log # and getting called so fast has been surreal, so wanted to share here what I've experienced.
First off I'm a freelancer and got some conflicting information from the St. James building management about income limits for one person, and how they determine income. When I went for my appointment the building mgt. had me provide 3 years of returns and said everything looked good and they'd take the average income from that.
They also said once you get approved by HPD, you have about 2 weeks to get your full amount of money in, new tenants have to buy a refrigerator and stove, etc. They looked over everything and said it looked like my information was all set, so I scheduled the home visit and waited to get contacted.
Last week they had me come in to sign more papers. One was about an overage charge, and the other was a form stating that I'd only be living in the building. I got a call today with a message to call HPD, and things got a little dark.
The person I talked to at HPD (the first person reviewing my application) told me that they don't look at 3 years of income for freelancers, they only look at the AGI from the previous tax year's return, and don't average out income. That's a major drag to hear since my income varies from year to year, but I'm glad I finally got an answer.
Long story short I don't think I'm going to get the apartment since my income from last year is over the limit for one person. The guy I talked to said another person at HPD has to review my application so it's not a dead deal yet, but I don't have my hopes up. He said I could appeal if I do get rejected, but that would only keep me on the waiting list, it wouldn't hold the apartment for me.
In any case it seems like a really nice building inside and if I don't get the apartment, I hope it goes to the next person on the list quickly. I was lucky enough to get on the Gouveneur Gardens list also, so all is not lost LOL. Good luck to everyone on a list!
Thank you so much for this post. I’m on this waiting list as well. I hope the second person who reviews your application approves you for an apartment. Good luck!
Thank you so much for this post. I’m on this waiting list as well. I hope the second person who reviews your application approves you for an apartment. Good luck!
Thanks! I unfortunately got rejected by the second person. But when they called me to let me know they were really nice about it and gave me really good advice on what to include in my appeal letter. Good luck to you also, maybe we'll be neighbors one day!
I've read in these posts that if your income exceeds the limit, some buildings will add to your monthly carrying charges rather than reject you.
Also, I'm curious that you're just being called now when the ML waitlist is showing that #27 on the 1-bedroom list was approved in September 2019...
Regarding the income limit: I think the building management also thought that I could get in even if my income exceeded the limit (I was over by about $10k). After they took my initial paperwork they had me come in and fill out an overage form, which said that for my first year, my carrying charge would be more than I was originally told because my income was over. We (me and the St. James mgt team) thought that because I'm a freelancer and had a letter from my accountant explaining my weird bump in income for that year (a client paid me late - which sounds like "The dog ate my homework" excuse but it's true LOL!) I'd be accepted by HPD, but I wasn't. HPD has the final say in all this, so even though the building accepted me, they didn't.
I also talked to a lawyer familiar with Mitchell Lama and HPD and he was really helpful. He said that HPD has been under a lot of scrutiny lately, so they are sticking to the rules more so than usual. He thought that I may have made it in earlier, but it was bad timing to have a client pay me late I'm not mad at HPD - they went by the rules and did what's fair and makes sense. I just wish the management team at the building knew the rules a little better because I would have refused and waited for more time to pass but what can you do - if it's confusing for them I don't feel bad about being confused too. Anyway, I'm glad I can appeal, and I think I have good reasons that backup the misunderstanding from me and the building management to get back on the waiting list. Onward!
Regarding the waitlist numbers, I have no idea how that works at all. I'm guessing they had military/preferred applicants get in who had higher numbers than I did. The mgt team did tell me that it's kind of difficult to get people in because so many things can go wrong: you can go over income like I did, and it can be hard to get the funds for the apartment, people move, etc. They told me that you have to have all the money ready to buy the shares roughly two weeks after you get final approval from HPD, they want to get people in fast.
Hope this helps, good luck to us all!
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I've seen the other side
. But when they called me to let me know they were really nice about it and gave me really good advice on what to include in my appeal letter. Good luck to you also, maybe we'll be neighbors one day!
I'm not mad at HPD - they went by the rules and did what's fair and makes sense. I just wish the management team at the building knew the rules a little better because I would have refused and waited for more time to pass but what can you do - if it's confusing for them I don't feel bad about being confused too. Anyway, I'm glad I can appeal, and I think I have good reasons that backup the misunderstanding from me and the building management to get back on the waiting list. Onward! 
