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Yeah my money order hasn't been cashed either, I also just want to know that they received my application and it didn't get lost or anything.
Does anyone know how that would work? If you sent your stuff in but it got lost by USPS?
On another note, I've sent in previous mitchell lama applications (Village East and Lindsay Park) via certified mail and haven't had an issue, they were recieved and money orders cashed.
Location: Read the Marketing Handbook, and Income a Guide.
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(Domestic USPS money orders never expire )
Quote:
Originally Posted by speediestevie
To me, it’s hard to believe that this many people apply. I got into Stryckers, Henry Phillips, Lindsay Park, and another one that escapes me. I only started playing in October 2022, I can’t be this lucky, though my numbers are pretty high… And no one has sent a confirmation yet to me. Regarding this being a low priority, I think your explanation makes sense.
For Housing Connect 2 lotteries I see log#s in the many tens of thousands often. But, the Mitchell Lama lotteries typically cap the number of log#s issued making it harder to judge how many people entered. I suppose fewer people pay attention to the Mitchell Lama lotteries, and also the window to enter is often narrower.
Congratulations on your good luck. Save your money for those co-op units because financing a loan can be challenging for ML.
Know that it can can years of waiting, more than ten years is not unknown. Waiting time is hard to forecast. Lyndsay Park is huge and Henry Philips is much smaller so perhaps the first will move faster. Mark your calendar to check in once a year or so. Update each building individually if you move. As far as I know, moving into one Mitchell-Lama building does not require you to withdraw from the other waitlists. Stay active on the other lists because the might result in a better deal when they call your log#.
Vacancies are infrequent, but the list can jump many log#s with each vacancy. There can be high drop out rates due to long waits.
FYI to ALL, the USPS says this: ‘Domestic money orders never expire and they do not accrue interest. Money orders are cashed for the exact amount on the order. You can cash a USPS money order at a Post Office for free. You can also cash them at most banks and some stores.’
So, building management does not have any expiration date pressure to cash such money orders.
For Housing Connect 2 lotteries I see log#s in the many tens of thousands often. But, the Mitchell Lama lotteries typically cap the number of log#s issued making it harder to judge how many people entered. I suppose fewer people pay attention to the Mitchell Lama lotteries, and also the window to enter is often narrower.
Congratulations on your good luck. Save your money for those co-op units because financing a loan can be challenging for ML.
Know that it can can years of waiting, more than ten years is not unknown. Waiting time is hard to forecast. Lyndsay Park is huge and Henry Philips is much smaller so perhaps the first will move faster. Mark your calendar to check in once a year or so. Update each building individually if you move. As far as I know, moving into one Mitchell-Lama building does not require you to withdraw from the other waitlists. Stay active on the other lists because the might result in a better deal when they call your log#.
Vacancies are infrequent, but the list can jump many log#s with each vacancy. There can be high drop out rates due to long waits.
FYI to ALL, the USPS says this: ‘Domestic money orders never expire and they do not accrue interest. Money orders are cashed for the exact amount on the order. You can cash a USPS money order at a Post Office for free. You can also cash them at most banks and some stores.’
So, building management does not have any expiration date pressure to cash such money orders.
I don't think it's a problem that the money orders are sometimes not cashed in a timely manner, I just think it's a mystery. And you summed it up perfectly - they have higher priorities. And they are probably very short staffed. So we wait.
BTW, if waiting patiently is not your thing, you should reconsider applying to Mitchell Lama.
Thank you WAH for your detailed response.
BPC - I think the concern is more about ensuring that the building managers received the applications, that it is on their files. They can take their time cashing in the money order.
Thank you WAH for your detailed response.
BPC - I think the concern is more about ensuring that the building managers received the applications, that it is on their files. They can take their time cashing in the money order.
I received a mail from Phipps Houses that said I am eligible for a 2-bedroom apartment; unfortunately, currently, they do not have any available apartments.
Don't lose heart people! Sometimes they indicate that "there is nothing currently available" but what they don't say is that something may come up shortly. With MLs, patience is definitely the key.
I would like to know about the process of sending a Mitchell-Lama apartment application for HPD approval. Specifically, I am wondering about the difference between the HPD approval process for Mitchell-Lama apartments and the process for Housing Connect apartments.
Could anyone provide information on whether the approval process for Mitchell-Lama apartments tends to move more quickly or slowly than the process for Housing Connect apartments?
I would greatly appreciate any insight or experiences you might have to share.
Location: Read the Marketing Handbook, and Income a Guide.
2,007 posts, read 1,626,371 times
Reputation: 479
Quote:
Originally Posted by deltapi
I would like to know about the process of sending a Mitchell-Lama apartment application for HPD approval. Specifically, I am wondering about the difference between the HPD approval process for Mitchell-Lama apartments and the process for Housing Connect apartments.
Could anyone provide information on whether the approval process for Mitchell-Lama apartments tends to move more quickly or slowly than the process for Housing Connect apartments?
I would greatly appreciate any insight or experiences you might have to share.
If you use the “search this forum” feature on here on the “New York City Housing Lottery” there are many posts on this.
There are hundreds maybe even thousands of Housing Connect new empty apartments each year. There are many fewer vacancies each year at NYC Mitchell Lama’s which are all decades old and already occupied. Because they are already occupied they only have lotteries to join waitlists for possible future vacancies. There is no good way to predict vacancies other than perhaps learning the ages of tenants and co-op owners. If a Mitchell Lama building has an average occupancy age of 80 then we can assume that vacancies would occur more often than if the average age was 40.
In a nutshell, the application processes are different, and the Mitchell-Lama process can be very very slow, years even more than a decade. Although, in this forum there are a very few posts about a Mitchell-Lama taking under a year or just a year or two.
Mitchell-Lama, because it’s slow, only has a short application at first. Presumably, this is because they know a household’s size and income will likely shift by the time they are offered an apt. With such a long wait, it does not make sense to go into details about income presently but instead wait until an offer can be made which might be years from now.
Why is Mitchell-Lama slow? There has not been a Mitchell Lama built in NYC in decades. Compared to Housing Connect lotteries that are constantly offering new buildings that are entirely empty. A single Mitchell Lama building might only have three vacancies in a year, and often no vacancies in a year for 2 bedroom units and larger.
One reason why there are so few vacancies at Mitchell Lama buildings is they are often excellent values for the money. Some have pools, and some have both pools and parking. Tenants and co-op owners are not motivated to leave.
If you get a log# for a Mitchell Lama, my suggestion is take it, pay the application fee. Then just wait. If today the particular Mitchell Lama does not seem to suit you, you can ignore those feelings because circumstances could have changed by the time they get to your log#. The fee is not enormous, and a portion of it is refundable. It’s true that you might not get called soon enough to matter, but if you are called it can be life changing and the fee is nothing in comparison.
I suppose I have emphasized that Mitchell Lama is slow, but there are exceptions, and it’s not so transparent. A Mitchell Lama on the Upper West Side near Central Park would like move more slowly because of its desirability keeps vacancies low. However, a Mitchell Lama on Coney Island could move faster because it’s so far from Manhattan.
If you want a two bedroom but have been offered a log# for a one bedroom Mitchell Lama take the log # and pay the application fee. If you move into the Mitchell Lama there will likely be waitlist internally for a larger apartment. If you get tired of waiting for a larger apt there you can move out. In the interim you likely have been able to save move for the move. Also, if the wait is long to move initially to the one bedroom, your household needs might have changed and a one bedroom suits you, and likely will be a good value for money.
By the way, just because you live in a Mitchell Lama or are on a waitlist does not prevent you from entering other lotteries or living in a lottery apartment. One of the very few exceptions is if you already live in a Mitchell Lama, some lotteries for that same building don’t let you enter.
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(Domestic USPS money orders never expire )
