Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I are considering a move to Manhattan and are looking into apartments. Our realtor tells us that many of the homes we are looking at have co-op boards that are, to put it nicely, stuffy. They are mostly on the east side, near Central Park, but one is on Central Park West. I am self employed and my husband is an athlete. We have the finances available but are wondering what else they will be looking at: how much (what percentage) should we be giving to charity? How should we address sub-letting? Do you think it will affect their decision that we have many, albeit well-behaved, children?
Honestly they won't like that your self employed and if your planning on subletting in their building then forget about it. On kids it depends on which building and how many kids you have, not sure how they'd view athletics.
Most Co-Op boards in the area that your talking about are looking for stable finances, so anything that shows that if something should happen like your husband breaks his leg or you can't pick up any clients that you'd still be able to 1) afford your property, 2) keep to the standard of affluence that the building prides.
What you are seeing in some of these buildings now is that some young guy (or girl) have struck gold on wall st. and goes to the co-op board with millions in cash and he's still rejected because the board doesn't like his style or something.
Honestly they won't like that your self employed and if your planning on subletting in their building then forget about it. On kids it depends on which building and how many kids you have, not sure how they'd view athletics.
Most Co-Op boards in the area that your talking about are looking for stable finances, so anything that shows that if something should happen like your husband breaks his leg or you can't pick up any clients that you'd still be able to 1) afford your property, 2) keep to the standard of affluence that the building prides.
What you are seeing in some of these buildings now is that some young guy (or girl) have struck gold on wall st. and goes to the co-op board with millions in cash and he's still rejected because the board doesn't like his style or something.
I don't know how much of this is from experience, but I've lived in five co-ops and I've never had a problem with a board.
Not all boards are the same. Realtors know which are difficult to deal with and which aren't. You will have to submit financials (including income tax returns) for the past two or three years. The prejudice against the self-employed is absurd. Many, many attorneys and doctors are self-employed and they're not turned down in droves by boards.
Boards do require an interview. Sometimes they'll also ask to meet your children and even your dog, because they want to see the whole package. But if you've gotten to the interview they WANT to approve you. Boards don't interview those whose financials are out of line. The only thing you can do at an interview is make them NOT like you, because they already like you on paper.
The nonsense about 'the standard of affluence' is just that: nonsense. They have seen your financial and want to be sure that you can pay your maintenance. Even if you lose your source(s) of income. Whether you furnish your apartment with hand-me-downs or not is immaterial. What they care about is holding up YOUR share of the proprietary lease.
Sublets are touchy issues. Why would you EVER bring that up at an interview? Asking about a the sublet policy at an interview will only make a board think that you want to be absentee owners and they won't look favorably on that.
What EVERY board asks, invariably, is whether you plan to do renovations. And you need to answer this truthfully. If you plan to re-do the kitchen SAY SO. Because when you renovate, you'll need to file your plans with the board and, possibly, the building architect, to get the board's approval. And if you lied at your interview they might not be so quick about approving your plans.
It's not nearly as horrific as many people make the process sound. Wear conservative clothes, speak softly, be honest and smile: they already like you if you're at the interview.
My husband and I are considering a move to Manhattan and are looking into apartments. Our realtor tells us that many of the homes we are looking at have co-op boards that are, to put it nicely, stuffy. They are mostly on the east side, near Central Park, but one is on Central Park West. I am self employed and my husband is an athlete. We have the finances available but are wondering what else they will be looking at: how much (what percentage) should we be giving to charity? How should we address sub-letting? Do you think it will affect their decision that we have many, albeit well-behaved, children?
I would ask the realtor what they mean by the boards being stuffy--it sounds to me like they are trying to turn you off from certain properties. But that's just me, I can be paranoid about things like that. It's time for you to have a direct discussion with your realtor about this. They should have a very good idea of what individual boards are like, what the sublet policies are, etc.
Last edited by clevedark; 06-22-2009 at 07:12 PM..
Disclaimer: ok all you forum vets. I don't mean to bring dead posts back but I am new(just found this site) and excited to post here : p sorry!
Another thing to consider is they may frown on pierr-e-teres( holy cow I misspelled that horribly, huh). Meaning,..people buying places to use part time and they disappear every weekend to their Hampton house or something.
Also, a bigger thing is to consider what the board requires as far as post-liquidity assets go. As in, after you close and downpayment and all that, they still want to see that you have up to 2 years savings/cash of mortgage/maint in the bank! that can be quite high! You may get lucky and they take into account your 401k/stocks/bonds, but otherwise it is cold hard cash they want to see in your account( even if you simply 'borrowed' it for a few months to show up on your statement).
Disclaimer: ok all you forum vets. I don't mean to bring dead posts back but I am new(just found this site) and excited to post here : p sorry!
Another thing to consider is they may frown on pierr-e-teres( holy cow I misspelled that horribly, huh). Meaning,..people buying places to use part time and they disappear every weekend to their Hampton house or something.
Also, a bigger thing is to consider what the board requires as far as post-liquidity assets go. As in, after you close and downpayment and all that, they still want to see that you have up to 2 years savings/cash of mortgage/maint in the bank! that can be quite high! You may get lucky and they take into account your 401k/stocks/bonds, but otherwise it is cold hard cash they want to see in your account( even if you simply 'borrowed' it for a few months to show up on your statement).
anyways,.my 2 swipes,..
good luck!
Sorry, but when the boards don't like pieds-a-terre, it doesn't mean that they don't like people who disappear to the Hamptons every weekend. Most of my building does that. It's not what the board has an issue with. What they don't like is someone who really lives in Boston but comes down every other month or so for a visit. Or someone who's buying just so his/her child has a place to live. Boards want the shareholder to be in residence. That has nothing to do with having a country home for weekends.
And boards absolutely DO take into account 401Ks, etc., but do so knowing that the applicant would have to also pay a stiff penalty for removing those assets.
, it doesn't mean that they don't like people who disappear to the Hamptons every weekend.
And boards absolutely DO take into account 401Ks, etc., but do so knowing that the applicant would have to also pay a stiff penalty for removing those assets.
ok ok,.I may of exaggerated on the hampton thing. my bad.
but I have had first hand experience of boards not taking 401k/stocks/bonds into consideration when it comes to post purchase liquidity. Bottom line, all boards are different. some are stuffy,.some not. meh.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
