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I am looking to get a Co-op in Queens and have a few questions.
In my research I read that it's best to get a broker/agent to help negotiate, since it's free and have my best interest. Article says the listing agent has the seller's best interest so never negotiate with them directly. Is this true? Where would I even find a qualified agent to help me negotiate? I found a website called hauseit, anyone ever heard of it?
Also, any first time buyer's tips to save me money? I have the down payment, great credit (800+), good salary, and no current debts. I figure the best place to find a mortgage is a combination of local banks and internet search. What do you all recommend? And will my credit score suffer if I go to too many banks, since each of them will do a hard pull? Where do I find a lawyer for this process?
if the building has a flip tax make sure the bank knows up front . they usually want the money for the flip tax put down as part of the down payment .
when my daughter bought hers banks were inflexible on this . if the co-op will not exempt a bank foreclosure from the flip tax which most if not all won't , they want the required down payment plus the flip tax amount as it stands on the apartment today added to the down payment .
It's true that the seller may likely have a broker who will be mainly looking out for the seller's interests. However, in my experience, it is not necessarily true that you need an agent of your own. Certainly not if you're hoping to save money.
I went to a mortgage broker, not to each individual bank. Have you asked around to friends and colleagues for lawyer recommendations?
I have the feeling you're doing a cart-before-the-horse here. It took me a long, long time to find my place. Maybe you need to be thinking more about want you want in an apartment.
if the building has a flip tax make sure the bank knows up front . they usually want the money for the flip tax put down as part of the down payment .
when my daughter bought hers banks were inflexible on this . if the co-op will not exempt a bank foreclosure from the flip tax which most if not all won't , they want the required down payment plus the flip tax amount as it stands on the apartment today added to the down payment .
Thank you, this is something I never even considered. I'll make sure to account for it.
It's true that the seller may likely have a broker who will be mainly looking out for the seller's interests. However, in my experience, it is not necessarily true that you need an agent of your own. Certainly not if you're hoping to save money.
I went to a mortgage broker, not to each individual bank. Have you asked around to friends and colleagues for lawyer recommendations?
I have the feeling you're doing a cart-before-the-horse here. It took me a long, long time to find my place. Maybe you need to be thinking more about want you want in an apartment.
I did ask around for recommendations, but not many of my friends have purchased property yet. As you can imagine, buying property in NYC is not an easy goal to attain.
My wife found a place she loves and want to place an offer, which is why I'm doing the research on how to actually place on offer. Seems like a lot more complicated than just telling the agent our offer.
Also, how did getting a mortgage broker help you with your interest rate? Would you have gotten the same rate if you went directly to a bank yourself? How much did your broker charge?
Last edited by Nudetypist; 04-11-2017 at 10:35 AM..
Reason: extra question.
First, make sure you understand everything you can about coops. This means understanding that even if a particular apartment looks great and seems like a place you'd like to live, you still MUST check the financials of the building. Remember that you are investing in a corporation in which you will own shares. This means the coop's finances are of utmost importance.
You can look up previous sales in the building on ACRIS. That will help you (a little) to know if the apartment is priced properly.
I don't know of too many people who used a buyer's broker. I am not sure that's that common in this NYC market.
You do need a real estate lawyer who understands coops. It might be preferable to find a lawyer that has already reviewed the financials in the particular coop you want to buy in, but at least try to find one who knows the coops in the neighborhood. I was naive and let the SELLER's broker recommend a real estate lawyer to use. I didn't actually have problems with this, and my coop's financials are very good, but this was a total rookie mistake I made.
Another little-known resource is the Columbia real estate brochures, which will show you all floor plans in certain buildings in all 5 boroughs. This could be good if you are trying to compare, say, what a "B line" unit sold for vs. a "C line" as even one bedroom apartments can differ in square footage by 200 to 250 square feet even in the same building.
I did ask around for recommendations, but not many of my friends have purchased property yet. As you can imagine, buying property in NYC is not an easy goal to attain.
My wife found a place she loves and want to place an offer, which is why I'm doing the research on how to actually place on offer. Seems like a lot more complicated than just telling the agent our offer.
Also, how did getting a mortgage broker help you with your interest rate? Would you have gotten the same rate if you went directly to a bank yourself? How much did your broker charge?
It was so long ago for me. When I wanted to make an offer, I just picked up the telephone and called. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you about the mortgage, partly because I was pretty much a moron about the whole process. I was given the name of a broker, and it didn't occur to me to shop around. I got a god rate, and I wouldn't have been endlessly shopping around to try to do better by a few tenths of a percent. Which is weird, because normally I'm a real comparison shopper. I guess I was just flummoxed by all the numbers. Sorry.
Do you have a lawyer? In NYC people seem to use lawyers more than in other cities.
We checked rates online and since we had perfect credit, we knew we'd get the best rate available at the time for what we wanted. We went to a few banks and took the one with the best rate. I almost went with another one---slightly higher rate, but they had some benefits via my union in terms of job loss/inability to pay for a period of time but I nixed it for the lower rate.
We actually just used the seller's agent. But it really depends on whether or not you know your market. I knew the neighborhood very well and I knew I was getting a good price, so I didn't really care. I knew that I was getting it at a price that was well below what the other one bedroom units were selling for in the building. You should look at sales in the building (ACRIS is one, but often times just a simple search on StreetEasy will show you previous sales for comparable units in the same building) and take a look if the pictures are still available for viewing online, you can see which are updated and which are not.
Find a lawyer who is used to working with coops. Have someone review the financials of the coop---my lawyer had a guy who did that. See what your maintenance includes, how often they raise the maintenance, if they regularly charge assessments, if they credit your STAR money back or if they take it, what their flip tax is if they have one, etc. (BTW-I never had any issue with flip tax and a d/p. My building does has a small flip tax based---a percentage multiplied by the number of shares---and the bank never once mentioned it.) Unlike mathjak, I don't know anyone who had to also add flip tax to their d/p to satisfy the bank, but that's just my experience and aside from me, I really only know two other people who have coops.)
Also, if subletting matters to you, find out if it's allowed and when. Some coops are owner occupied only. If you care about pets, see what the policy is on pets.
(ACRIS is one, but often times just a simple search on StreetEasy will show you previous sales for comparable units in the same building) and take a look if the pictures are still available for viewing online, you can see which are updated and which are not.
see what the policy is on pets.
Agree -- Streeteasy has a button you can click that says "past sales" so that's a good place to look. Maybe easier than ACRIS, however, I suspect there is info missing from the Streeteasy site since sometimes it just says "information not available"
Also agree about pet policy. And if you don't have a dog and never want one, and the building allows dogs, you should think twice about buying there. Everyone around you will have a dog and there will be barking. take if from me. I have a dog below me, above me, next door, across the hall and down the hall, and I have heard all but one bark at various times. It's annoying, especially since I don't plan to have a dog so the policy doesn't benefit me.
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