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More updates: So I went to the office and finally met with Carmen. She was super nice and very thorough. The process is relatively painless if you are prepared and bring everything they required. So below is a list of what I brought for the meeting:
i) 2018 W2
ii) copies of 2017 & 2018 tax return (both states and federal) but we still have to request a certified copy from IRS that costs $50 for each copy.
iii) 2017 tax transcript obtained online
iv) $500 money order for admin fee
v) $500 money order for secured loan fee
vi) $190 credit/background check fee
vii) photo ID
viii) SS income statement
I will try to be clear but I am overwhelmed with information. So the first thing they did was to calculate if we exceeded the max income. It's kind of complicated and I wasn't given the exact formula. Just like Incog79 mentioned above, it varies slightly according to the size of the studio. In my case, it's a 3rm studio with an eat in kitchen. I was told they added the income for both applicants, minus a 20K allowable deduction for one person and then minus another 1K for each person to determine our combined income for the household. Then, she went on to calculate the max income for the 3rm studio and told me it can be exceeded by 200%; you just need to pay a surcharge each month on top of the maintenance. It's a 5% increment, so for every 5% you exceeded, you pay 5% more base on monthly charges. The max for my studio is roughly 90K, so theoretically we can still get in with a combined max income of 270K. (but of coz, instead of $550/mon, maintenance will go up to 1,650/mon) There is also a 10 year assessment right now because of the ongoing HVAC upgrade/maintenance but it's refundable when you exit the apartment. Oh, and gas is also included in the maintenance.
Closing is set a month from the meeting and we are waiting for the credit/background check result, as well as the home visit. I was told they basically want to check our living condition and make sure we are not hoarders. Apparently hoarding is an issue with them.
In any case, we signed a lot of papers and ended up bringing home a large package to read. But it's all good, we found out there is a gym, a woodworker's club, a ceramic studios, gardening...it's fabulous. And people in the management office are actually very nice and efficient. We are looking forward to living there
Let me know if you have any questions, I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge.
I'm glad that you're getting settled in. Goodness if my son found out out the NBA basketball players trained there he wouldn't know what to do with himself! Amazing! I'm still in the waiting game. I've given everything that they've asked for and I'm still just waiting. Thanks for the update. Looking forward to moving in (fingers crossed) and YES I would love to say hi to the other lottery winners. All in God's hands.
More updates: So I went to the office and finally met with Carmen. She was super nice and very thorough. The process is relatively painless if you are prepared and bring everything they required. So below is a list of what I brought for the meeting:
i) 2018 W2
ii) copies of 2017 & 2018 tax return (both states and federal) but we still have to request a certified copy from IRS that costs $50 for each copy.
iii) 2017 tax transcript obtained online
iv) $500 money order for admin fee
v) $500 money order for secured loan fee
vi) $190 credit/background check fee
vii) photo ID
viii) SS income statement
I will try to be clear but I am overwhelmed with information. So the first thing they did was to calculate if we exceeded the max income. It's kind of complicated and I wasn't given the exact formula. Just like Incog79 mentioned above, it varies slightly according to the size of the studio. In my case, it's a 3rm studio with an eat in kitchen. I was told they added the income for both applicants, minus a 20K allowable deduction for one person and then minus another 1K for each person to determine our combined income for the household. Then, she went on to calculate the max income for the 3rm studio and told me it can be exceeded by 200%; you just need to pay a surcharge each month on top of the maintenance. It's a 5% increment, so for every 5% you exceeded, you pay 5% more base on monthly charges. The max for my studio is roughly 90K, so theoretically we can still get in with a combined max income of 270K. (but of coz, instead of $550/mon, maintenance will go up to 1,650/mon) There is also a 10 year assessment right now because of the ongoing HVAC upgrade/maintenance but it's refundable when you exit the apartment. Oh, and gas is also included in the maintenance.
Closing is set a month from the meeting and we are waiting for the credit/background check result, as well as the home visit. I was told they basically want to check our living condition and make sure we are not hoarders. Apparently hoarding is an issue with them.
In any case, we signed a lot of papers and ended up bringing home a large package to read. But it's all good, we found out there is a gym, a woodworker's club, a ceramic studios, gardening...it's fabulous. And people in the management office are actually very nice and efficient. We are looking forward to living there
Let me know if you have any questions, I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge.
Good luck to all
thanks for this! Can you shed any light on the mortgage situation (if you're taking one)?
@hello40kitty Is there an extra charge for using the pool and gym? If so, how much extra? I know they said gas is included in the rent. So does everyone set up a Con Ed and internet account or would we have to include with the rent?
thanks for this! Can you shed any light on the mortgage situation (if you're taking one)?
I am not taking one but the management office included info in the package; I think depending on your credit score you can finance up to 75% with them.
Hey @PRETTYK! Yes, the amenities is separate. It includes the gym, basketball court, pool, and the main lounge area. There is an additional cost the the sky lounge but you can’t pay for the sky lounge on its own. You have to have the main amenities package. As far as Con Ed, this is the part that’s a bit confusing for me. The building is sub metered. I will receive the bill from management. I’ve never lived a building that was sub metered. I’m just familiar with regular Con Ed. I’m super curious what my first bill is gonna look like. Smh. Anyway, new week means hopefully good news with paperwork! Who’s moving in? Lmao!!!
Hey @PRETTYK! Yes, the amenities is separate. It includes the gym, basketball court, pool, and the main lounge area. There is an additional cost the the sky lounge but you can’t pay for the sky lounge on its own. You have to have the main amenities package. As far as Con Ed, this is the part that’s a bit confusing for me. The building is sub metered. I will receive the bill from management. I’ve never lived a building that was sub metered. I’m just familiar with regular Con Ed. I’m super curious what my first bill is gonna look like. Smh. Anyway, new week means hopefully good news with paperwork! Who’s moving in? Lmao!!!
So, if you don't mind, how much is the main amenities package and how much is the sky lounge?
And to clarify -- this is what happens with the ConEd payment:
Every month you will get a statement with your ConEd charge. Then that amount will be added to your rent bill. It's not rent, obviously, it's just that you don't pay ConEd directly. Management pays ConEd and they add your portion to your rent statement.
I am not taking one but the management office included info in the package; I think depending on your credit score you can finance up to 75% with them.
Yes, there is an in-house credit union that handles most Penn South mortgages. They are very easy to work with but the downside is that they offer above-market rates and only 5- and 10-year mortgages, so your payment will probably be higher than you expect for the amount financed. I shopped around other lenders when I moved in (Chase, Citi, Quicken/Rocket) and none of them would give me a mortgage because of Penn South's limited-equity status (my credit score is excellent, so that had nothing to do with it). Citi is apparently working with management to begin offering mortgages but I don't think they are ready to go yet. You might be able to get another local bank to give you a mortgage (maybe Apple Bank?) but I didn't try any others.
And congrats on moving in! You're going to love it. You probably want to sign up for all of the wait lists ASAP. The *shortest* one is probably the parking lot, and that will take 6-7 years to get a spot based on how long the people at the top of that list have been on it. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
Thank you all. I am keeping my fingers crossed for credit/background check and home visit.
So Incog79...how many " wait lists" are there? I am very much interested in gardening and ceramics. And although I don't have a car right now, I think I will put my name in just in case.
Do you know how much is parking there right now? Thanks
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Thanks hello40kitty
