How to deal w !@$# management company? are these questions unusual?

just to add more flavor... management asks money to answer the attorney questions.
"The Transfer Dept. does not complete Due Diligence questionnaires or answer those sorts of questions. Questionnaires carry a fee of $150.00 payable to XXXX Properties, payable by bank check or money order.
Some questions will not be answered as they are confidential and/or not commented upon.
Example: All Financial Questions will be referred to the last released Financial Statement."

You should ask your lawyer.

I'm not a RE lawyer, so I don't know if this is unusual or not -- but it does look like they're being affirmatively unhelpful. I don't know if it means that they'll be unhelpful in fixing your toilet -- but I'd bet that if you ever need to sell, they'll be an impediment to any potential buyer. If they're only as difficult as anyone else in the market (which your lawyer should be able to tell you)...then you're ok. If they're being way more difficult than the norm -- then in my view it's a problem.

I think it is fairly standard for management companies to ask for a fee to complete an atty's due diligence questionairre. That happened once to me and my lawyer said it was normal. However, for this douchebag company stalling/deflecting your questions is BS.

my educated gues is that this mgmt co is garbage--i have bot sld many coops in nyc and always got current financial info--always got copies of minutes of rect board mtgs--i would love to see a post from someone with specific knowledge, but it seems ridiculous that they will only give you the val of the reserve fund as of 2007??!! i have always known that current val when i have bouhgt--

Be prepared to walk away, tell the seller about your troubles, and explain that unless they can do something to get your questions answered the deal cannot be done. If that doesn't work, this isn't the building for you no matter how much you love the unit.

Think about this: this is a building you are going to be LIVING IN. Regardless of your attorney's eventual ability to obtain this info, do you want to live in a building managed like that?

sounds like the board went with the $$$ rather than competence. i would have the seller contact one of the board members and have them answer the questions through the management co. if not, don't buy.

sounds like my management company. after threats of lawsuit, they start doing a little.

this is one of the reasons i will never buy a coop or condo ever again.

All great points. Thanks.

I think this really comes down to the level of transparency in mgt companies, in general.
$100 here, $500 there... what a good business.
Charging fee to disclose information seems to me as a pile of BS. I am a potential investor!

A stock market investor can gather as much information (truthful or not) as she/he desires and makes an educated decision. A coop investor is at management company's mercy to learn a thing a two... then if you are lucky... you get to be stripped naked in front of the coop board. This is absolutely an unequal relationship.

I sound bitter... Just want to get it over with. I won't settle for muddy information. And quite honestly getting cold feet from the management.

Always have a plan B. And C. Time to go apartment shopping to find something even better.

{Manhattan real estate agent}

I deal with mgmt companies all the time. Most charge fees and most are slow or unresponsive

if you end up walking away, write a nice letter to the board notifying them that the management company made their building look incompetent. next month, there will be a new, more responsive company in place or the board will be answering these questions for free.

This is a long term issue and a problem only created by having long term the wrong people in the building. My bet, this is a coop that was converted from rental. So you have a difficult sponsor, cheap owners, long-time owners with a low basis, and other problems.
Never never never invest your money with people who don't have parallel ownership goals.
You are counting on a long time of headaches and already seeing the at the buy some of the already long term effects of a bad group of owners.
If you take the price of the apartment plus your portion of the mortgage and add a coop discount an illiquidity discount and an aggravation discount that shouln't be taken lightly since you are spending your life there! DO NOT BUY A COOP that is not fully in control of itself and has owners who are not in majority in a somewhat similar situation to yourself and in control of the board.

I hate to tell you this, but all of the above happen in all sorts of Coops (and Condos as well). Since the solution is buying a new condo, I'm not sure the cure isn't worse than the disease.

I had no problem getting updated financials, board minutes, and other information when I bought my co op. Some annoying fees are normal. Co Ops tend to go with management companies with lower annual fees but then the management companies get to keep a lot of these fees. In a way, it helps lower your cost as an owner. I agree with other posters re: the lack of transparency, etc. It is a huge investment that should not be made without being able to get reasonable information.

good post harbor--
re nyc buyer--managing agents always lack the urgency that buyers and sellers bring to deals--but they should provide the reasonable info required by all in a reasonable amt of time--this entity seems awful tho--and that they can behave as awfully as they do indicates some sorta slimy relationship with the board--maybe they dont like your seller and are fucking with him/her?--you dont want to end up on the receiving end of this--move on--as i write cheaper better apts are coming on the market

tbontb- I think what also may be happening here is as follows-- the majority of managing agents in the city, including Greenthal, Elliman, Bellmarc and more have recently put a "tighter lid" on what information they are allowed to release. They are now running most questionnaires from banks through their corporate counsel and sometimes attorney questions as well instead of just giving out the answer. This is in response to the fact that banks are now asking questions that previous they never addressed, and the managing agents are concerned about privacy issues as well as liability issues for themselves. This is not always however in the best interest of the building or the seller as it delays the process and also makes it appear as if there is something to hide.