Mortgage Lending to Small Co-op Building (11 units)

Come on, aren't there any mortgage brokers trolling these boards who are willing to represent that specific major lenders are willing to lend to 11-unit co-ops in Manhattan? Sonny Hong? Chase? Wells Fargo? Apple? Astoria Federal? HSBC? TD Bank? Capital One? This would be for conventional financing, not a jumbo mortgage.

The big 'cut-off' is generally "6 units or less".

Somebody call? I recently closed for someone who bought in a 13 unit coop in the lower east side. The size of the building nor the numbers of units is much of an issue as long as owner occupancy and financials are strong.

Shong,

Can u give us an update on rates and lending standards?

bugelrex, rather not get into rates bc they literally change 2-3 daily and it is based on many different factors. However, you can feel free to email me and Ill quote you rates based on scenarios as many times you want. sunny.hong@bankofamerica.com

Certainly lending standards arent loosening. I have spoken to alot more qualified buyers lately though. I think most people who can only go "stated income" now realize theyre not getting financing in most places. Here are guidelines we have today:

85% financing up to $625,500 (soon to be $729,750, as soon as this week probably)
80% financing up to $1.5M
75% financing up to $3M

One thing Id like to touch upon about having reserves that I came across lately. We accept IRA and 401k as reserves. I hear other lenders are now making borrowers liquidate it for it to count.

Please remember whether purchasing a coop or condo it is important for the building to be approved as much as the borrower is approved.

Sunny, what leads to a coop not being approved? Is it a threshold for sponsor ownership, or something else?

Ideally you dont want sponsor ownership of more than 10%. However, that doesnt mean the coop wont be approved. We'll just need to see a current budegt of maintenance paid vs. rents received to see cash flow. Also, we'll look at financials to see if the the coop is operating at a significant loss.

shong,

How much does it slow down the application if its not in your approved list but can qualify? days? weeks?

FWIW, my mortgage is with Citibank (Citimortgage) and I am in a 5-unit brownstone in Brooklyn. For my sized building, they like to limit themselves to just one apartment per building, but you might give them a shot. I got it through Manhattan Mortgage, whom I found very helpful.