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Can unhappy buyer deliberately "throw" the co-op board interview?

Started by Bassplayer
about 15 years ago
Posts: 4
Member since: Dec 2009
Discussion about
Hi, can an unhappy buyer under contract deliberately "throw" the board interview and get his full deposit back? What if the buyer just refuses to provide financial documents? What if he is deliberately nasty? This is not a hypothetical question, unfortunately....
Response by nyc10023
about 15 years ago
Posts: 7614
Member since: Nov 2008

Sure:

1) Don't shower for a few days before going for the interview
2) Ask about having 5 dogs in apt
3) Tell them about your complex renovation plans
4) Tell them that you are having financial difficulties

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Response by hfscomm1
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1590
Member since: Oct 2009

5) Bring along columbiacounty to assist. Each time they ask a question he'll retort in his signature style

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Response by urbandigs
about 15 years ago
Posts: 3629
Member since: Jan 2006

Tell them you plan to run a business from your apt. And if you really want out, tell them you plan to run an escort business.

clearly this thread will take a comical path

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Response by josefsz
about 15 years ago
Posts: 77
Member since: Oct 2008

bring a picture of your pet monkey

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Response by jimstreeteasy
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1967
Member since: Oct 2008

how about just telling them your SE name is BASSPLAYER

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Response by aboutready
about 15 years ago
Posts: 16354
Member since: Oct 2007

i don't think bassplayer is the one trying to throw the interview. i think his/her buyer is trying to do so.

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Response by hfscomm1
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1590
Member since: Oct 2009

Tell them you are lawsuit happy. Get some advice from aboutready and/or her husband.

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Response by ph41
about 15 years ago
Posts: 3390
Member since: Feb 2008

AR - I think you're right. But what can the seller do? Try to have a quiet conversation with a board member? If the buyer really tries to torpedo the interview, the board might go along to avoid having a possibly contentious owner move in.

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Response by Sunday
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1607
Member since: Sep 2009

Ask if there are any rules against displaying satanic symbols outside your door and windows.

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Response by ProperService
about 15 years ago
Posts: 207
Member since: Jun 2008

<5) Bring along columbiacounty to assist. Each time they ask a question he'll retort in his signature style

haha!! nice1

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Response by marco_m
about 15 years ago
Posts: 2481
Member since: Dec 2008

I dont know..depending who lives there, an escort business may be welcome

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Response by lobster
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1147
Member since: May 2009

When they ask about charitable endeavors, you can tell them of all the time and money that you donate to white supremacy causes.

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Response by aboutready
about 15 years ago
Posts: 16354
Member since: Oct 2007

ph41, i think the OP wants to know if there is any standard under which he/she can retain deposit if it is obvious that buyer is attempting to derail a deal. i'm not that familiar with coop law. perhaps 30yrs has had some experience in such matters.

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Response by ph41
about 15 years ago
Posts: 3390
Member since: Feb 2008

Unless the deposit is really substantial $$, the attorneys for buyer and seller could get more out of that fight than the seller.

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Response by kylewest
about 15 years ago
Posts: 4455
Member since: Aug 2007

If the seller learns the buyer acted in bad faith to void the contract, the buyer will likely find himself in litigation attempting to get the deposit released from escrow. A buyer does not have the right to deliberately attempt to scuttle a board interview. Failure to provided financials is also bad faith. You signed a contract and the law is not an ass about what that means.

If you truly want out, you must confer with your attorney about lawful means of doing so. You risk losing your deposit and this is not something to come up with creative solutions for on your own.

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Response by maly
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1377
Member since: Jan 2009

It would be really impossible to prove, unless they are deliberately being obvious about it. Short of signing a statement ( and why would they do that?), they can just appear slightly aggressive and unhinged, with annoying hobbies.

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Response by aboutready
about 15 years ago
Posts: 16354
Member since: Oct 2007

kw, again, i think the op has a buyer who is trying to get out of the deal, and is trying to keep the deposit. i might be wrong, but that's how i'm reading it.

not providing financial info is pretty obvious.

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Response by Sunday
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1607
Member since: Sep 2009

Ok, if we're ready going down the serious route... Talk to each other. Compromise! Anyone who does not negotiate in good faith will pay the price one way or another. The universe is just.

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Response by maly
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1377
Member since: Jan 2009

The universe is just? What kind of malarkey is that? The universe doesn't give a shit about coop agreements, that much is clear.

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Response by hfscomm1
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1590
Member since: Oct 2009

How can the universe be just when you have 10% unemployment but you have entitled Welfare Queens who "i fit in as a person in a household which makes a certain amount of money that makes it very cost ineffective for me to work in a traditional sense."

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Response by falcogold1
about 15 years ago
Posts: 4159
Member since: Sep 2008

get hfscomm1 to do the interview for you.

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Response by Sunday
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1607
Member since: Sep 2009

If you only look at a small area, it's just ice and dust particles...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/10/07/space.saturn.ring/index.html

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Response by hfscomm1
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1590
Member since: Oct 2009

great thinking falco. Between me and columbiacounty, we should totally be able to kill the deal.

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Response by scoots
about 15 years ago
Posts: 327
Member since: Jan 2009

This has been discussed in the past and then there seemed to be a consensus around what Kyle is saying - if the sellers figure it out, they'll keep your money.

You could always ask about running for the board, say how involved you've always been in the past and how you like to "shake things up."

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Response by NYCMatt
about 15 years ago
Posts: 7523
Member since: May 2009

"How can the universe be just when you have 10% unemployment"

Actually, if we use the same formula today that we used in the '30s to determine 25% unemployment during the Great Depression, today's unemployment rate would be closer to 22%.

Today's "unemployment" rate calculation -- which ignores those people who are out of work but no longer collecting unemployment -- is a holdover from the '70s, when we changed the formula to make the Carter administration look good during HIS recession.

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Response by maly
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1377
Member since: Jan 2009

The measure of employment in the US today is not comparable to other countries or other decades. It used to make me laugh when the USA #1 set would say that the low unemployment figure showed the superiority of a purest capitalistic system, when measuring apples to apples it was comparable to France, this haven of Socialists.

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Response by spinnaker1
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1670
Member since: Jan 2008

Bring Harvey, your invisible pet rabbit.

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Response by hfscomm1
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1590
Member since: Oct 2009

Bass, columbiacounty and I will see you at 10am.

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Response by RE2009
about 15 years ago
Posts: 474
Member since: Apr 2009

sure, throw the interview...
and while you are doing that think about the next time you are someone you know is looking for a job, finds one and is excited and looking forward to the future. but what you don't know is the employer has changed his mind and rather then do the decent thing and tell you they have had a change of heart they make your life a living hell so you will quit..
best of luck!!!!!

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Response by fcorrao
about 15 years ago
Posts: 20
Member since: Feb 2008

>>Today's "unemployment" rate calculation -- which ignores those people who are out of work but no >>longer collecting unemployment

Not to threadjack but this is 100% incorrect. The unemployment rate has nothing to do with whether or not you are collecting unemployment. It's strictly determined by a survey.

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Response by hfscomm1
about 15 years ago
Posts: 1590
Member since: Oct 2009

columbiacouty, see you tomorrow at 6:30 over at the co-op.

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Response by alanhart
about 15 years ago
Posts: 12397
Member since: Feb 2007

hi hfscomm1

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Response by Flutistic
about 11 years ago
Posts: 516
Member since: Apr 2007

My buyers, mortgage commitment letter in hand to buy my co-op apartment, appear to have exaggerated their financial situation on their REBNY financial disclosure form when they signed the contract with us.

It's slowly dawning on them that the co-op board is actually going to check..........everything. I think they might still squeak by, but I don't know for sure now.

They are dragging their feet about the board package, and asking questions that sound like money troubles.

To make matters worse, I turned up a misdemeanor charge in the area of, um, let's just call it turpitude. The charges were dismissed but there was press coverage.

I'm thinking of suggesting that we terminate the contract and they can have their whole deposit back, just to get rid of these people.

Obviously I need to discuss with our attorney, and will do so soon unless things improve dramatically.

Thoughts?

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Response by huntersburg
about 11 years ago
Posts: 11329
Member since: Nov 2010

Do you want to sell the apartment or don't you?

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Response by Flutistic
about 11 years ago
Posts: 516
Member since: Apr 2007

Good question. I do.

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Response by jelj13
about 11 years ago
Posts: 821
Member since: Sep 2011

I had a Board interview and the main interviewer asked me to tell them before we proceeded whether I really wanted to buy the apartment. I was a little stunned by the question, but answered "yes". The interviewers explained that a potential buyer for another apartment was very difficult during the interview. Apparently the buyers changed their minds about buying the apartment and was deliberately trying to "throw the interview".

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Response by streakeasy
about 11 years ago
Posts: 323
Member since: Jul 2008

Just make sure the contract is contingent on being accepted by the board. Else, your deposit will be sacrificed.

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Response by deanc
about 11 years ago
Posts: 407
Member since: Jun 2006

uhm streakeasy....you don't need a contingency in your contract about being accepted by the board....if the buyer doesn't get voted in by the board they buyer gets their deposit back.

no way does a buyer lose their deposit if the board votes them down.

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Response by buster2056
about 11 years ago
Posts: 866
Member since: Sep 2007

Standard contracts typically stipulate that you submit a full and complete board package (i.e. all required info including financials) within a certain time frame - failure to do so would give the seller grounds to keep your deposit.

If a seller suspects you deliberately threw a board interview, they could and should sue. Whether or not they can prove you acted in bad faith, is another question. For example, showing up drunk and falsely claiming you play a mean tuba and are a tap dancing champion would make it pretty easy to prove you were deliberately trying to sabotage the interview. Being vaguely creepy and asking about the board's stances on late night guests, moving in extended family, medical marijuana etc. would make it a lot harder.

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Response by buster2056
about 11 years ago
Posts: 866
Member since: Sep 2007

Flutistic - check the contract - there's usually a time frame by when they need to submit a complete and accurate board package. If they fail to do so, you have grounds to keep the deposit. That being said, if time is of the essence and you really just want to get your place sold, it's probably better to just offer to let them walk away.

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Response by crescent22
about 11 years ago
Posts: 953
Member since: Apr 2008

That is a highly suspect reason to keep a deposit. The standard NYC co-op contract says "Purchase shall in good faith..." submit the package within x business days. The wording is highly suggestive that the recourse for operating not in good faith is short of a breach.

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Response by huntersburg
about 11 years ago
Posts: 11329
Member since: Nov 2010

>If a seller suspects you deliberately threw a board interview, they could and should sue.

Good idea. Sue based on suspicion.

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Response by rb345
about 11 years ago
Posts: 1273
Member since: Jun 2009

Bassplayer:

1. deliberately failing an interview would seem to violate the duties of
good faith, fair dealing and commercial reasonableness which ate implied
in law covenants of all New York contracts

2. it would also seem to invoke what the Second Circuit Court of Appeals
calls the prevention doctrine, the rule of the New York Court of Appeals
in Kooleraire that when a party to a contract prevents the occurence of a
condition precedent to their duty to perform the contract, that condition
is deemed satisfied and their duty to perform becomes absolute

3. which in your case would mean the buyer must pay for the apartment or
foffeit his/her/its down payment

\\\

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Response by buster2056
about 11 years ago
Posts: 866
Member since: Sep 2007

crescent22, fair point, but I'm not suggesting that if the buyer fails to submit a package within the given time frame, you yell breach and sue. But I am saying that if the buyers drag their heels on submitting the info, provide false or incomplete information, or otherwise try to throw the deal, the seller has a pretty clear case for keeping the deposit.

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Response by huntersburg
about 11 years ago
Posts: 11329
Member since: Nov 2010

It's definitely a clear case when you suspect something.

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Response by mneuwirth
about 11 years ago
Posts: 36
Member since: Oct 2010

If in fact they did exaggerate check with your attorney about your options. I have not seen any sellers retain deposits in this case but perhaps your contract may have some protection for you in this regard. If you're using a broker try to gain a sense from him/her if they feel the board will approve the application with the given financials. If you're not using an agent try to consult with someone who can advise you - perhaps you know someone on the board or another agent - I'd be happy to discuss - no obligation. Based on this info you can decide how to proceed.

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Response by huntersburg
about 11 years ago
Posts: 11329
Member since: Nov 2010

Boards are secretive about their deliberations and have wide latitude in their decision making - rejection for any reason. How would you ever 'know' that the applicant deliberately threw the interview? How would you ever 'know' that even if the applicant didn't throw the interview, that the applicant would have been approved? How much are you willing to spend in legal fees to 'prove' the unprovable? How much time are you going to spend instead of mitigating your damages and finding a new buyer? How much are the real damages you could expect to recover, if in fact you can just sell the apartment? Do you shoot the man in front of you at the movie theater for texting his daughter? Do you threaten the reporter for asking you a legitimate question that you just don't want to answer even though you are a public official?

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Response by Roamer
about 11 years ago
Posts: 0
Member since: Jan 2014

In every contract in NY there is a built-in covenant for each party to act in good faith. Deliberately throwing a coop interview to get rejected and out of the contract is not acting in good-faith and is grounds to retain the contract deposit.

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Response by rb345
about 11 years ago
Posts: 1273
Member since: Jun 2009

Grimm points Huntersburg

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Response by huntersburg
about 11 years ago
Posts: 11329
Member since: Nov 2010

>Grimm points Huntersburg

Thank you. Call me C0C0.

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Response by hudson777
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 12
Member since: Nov 2010

I'm scheduled for the board interview next week. Do you think it reasonable to ask few questions about building financials such as to why they have very high mortgage and 3 judgments for unpaid taxed from NY State.

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Response by NYCMatt
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 7523
Member since: May 2009

I think, hudson, that would be an excellent way to throw your interview! Good luck with that.

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