What's the average turn around time for a board's approval/rejection of an applicant for purchase? How much do the summer months change this? What does it say if the board has had my documents for nearly 1 month with no reply?

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.
Do you understand these rights, because if you are seriously purchasing in a co-op, the rest of your life, instead of having your own home you will have to answer to this co-op board who has already proven unfriendly?
Do you understand that when you purchase a co-op you are not purchasing real property? Why would you purchase shares and a lease in a co-op when you could actually own real property?

One month is a fairly short time , especially in the summer when the full board or even a majority is unlikely to be around. In re: your rights, you have none. The board holds all of the cards. They will move at their own pace and make a decision that you may love or loathe. Unless you have videotape of their discussion of your race, sex , or some other federally stipulated civil rights violating attribute, you cannot do shizzle about it. Just one more reason to avoid coops.

"you cannot do shizzle about it."

Fo' shizzle, dizzle...

But what about mortgage issues? presumably a buyer could find themselves with their board package not being reviewed and the time running out on their bank/mortgage situation...?

tough luck....

to answer an earlier question, the reason ppl buy coops is that they are less expensive than comparable condos. I guess you get a discount for putting up w. all that BS...

You may come to the point where you realize that the foot dragging board has made your life easier by either rejecting you or causing your financing to fall apart (if you were sharp enough to keep the mortgage contingency clause !). If either of these happen, you've got another chance at avoiding the coop trap. Remember, if it's hard for you to get in, it's even worse when you decide to sell. Look for a well run pre-war condo.

Girl - all it says that you haven't heard anything is that your broker is not doing their job. Boards are typically 5-7 people who have full time jobs doing something else. Factor in summer travel schedules and it is very challenging for boards to quickly review and respond to your application. That said, your broker should be putting pressure on the board through the managing agent (good brokers know how to do this without being a pest). I have purchased 2 co-ops in NYC and while the process was nerve-wracking at the time (clock running on mortgage commitment, will they like me insecurity, etc.), in retrospect it was a blip on the radar of life and I have greatly enjoyed both apartments.

Despite what some others have said on this thread, the coop has limited impact on your life once you are in. You can generally undertake any reasonable renovation to your property and are free to enjoy your property as you see fit without imposing any negative impact on anyone else's right to do the same. I have sat on 2 boards and we have always made an effort to make a decision and schedule an interview within 4 weeks, max 6. 90% of the decision is around your ability to afford the property and demonstrate significant assets for the shareholders to go after should you default on any financial obligation to the coop. The interview, in most cases, is typically a formality. Congratulations, and good luck!

"Rights"?? Not so many.... As OTNYC says, somebody should be asking about the status, but some boards and Managing Agents are sticklers about such contact. Your agent should check with seller's agent to find out best way to inquire-without-being-irritating. Sometimes it is a simple inquiry from one of the agents to the Managing Agent; sometimes it is best for the seller to informally ask a friendly board member when you will hear something about timing; sometimes you will be told nothing because someone is struggling to get a pain-in-the-butt board member to review the materials and sign off.

You particularly want someone from the coop to state that your application is complete, instead of waiting 5 weeks for someone to ask you for another month's bank statements (or something simple). At the end of the day, the seller should be as anxious as you to move things along, and is usually better positioned to do so. Your agent should be all over the seller's agent until you hear something. Good luck, indeed!

Too much bs to contend with. I would never, ever buy a Coop, I don't care how much less expensive they are.

How much time does a condo board usually take to decide whether to waive its right of first refusal?

Right on OTNYC.

I love my co-op, I love my co-op board, I love my building's staff, I love my building, I love the flowers outside my building, I love the fake flowers inside my building, so I always get a little sad when people dis co-ops :(

If you love pre-war buildings on the Upper East Side, you might very well end up in a co-op, too. There are a lot of lovely ones.

girlincontract, get after thy agent! That person is supposed to do the checking and whatnot. Ideally said agent already had a working relationship with that board before you ever submitted your package.

{Manhattan real estate agent.}

Be careful -- if you are capable of using the word "rights" here, your attitude might lead you to a board rejection.

None of the board members is paid to do an extremely time-consuming job which includes vetting your financial and ethical character AFTER the managing agent has thoroughly checked your references and your employment letter to make sure they aren't fake. They are volunteering their time in the service of the building, and they don't owe a potential purchaser anything other than courtesy -- which one month certainly doesn't violate. Have your broker press the seller to check in with the board, but just be patient and give it another month.

Take heart in the old college application rule that rejections come quickly and approvals come slowly.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

i would check first with the managing agent. had one that didn't bother checking the board package for 6 weeks because the next meeting was in 8 weeks. this was right at this time point. the board had to schedule the "interview" the day off because of the delay in receipt of the package.

i would have the seller, nicely, inquire from one of the board members in they received the package and take it from there...