Odd Seller Behavior or am I missing something?

no it does not.

Concessions like this only serve to accentuate the problem. Properties with problems (perceived or otherwise) are difficult to sell, so in this case the seller has actually done you a favor and scared away your competition.

Suppose this $500K apartment is going to go up to $700K in two years when you plan on selling. Unfortunately, you don't have an extra $12K to pay out during that time, but the bank will happily lend to you for $525K. So the owner charges you $525K, you make $175K without having to pay out that $12K that you don't have, everybody wins.

Now I know what you're thinking, what about the guy who buys it from you? Won't HE have to pay $500 a month extra, thereby hurting the price at which you sell? Of course not, you simply rebate him 2 years of maintenance for a $25K higher price, again lent by the bank. Then he does the same thing when he sells in 2 years.

Ya get? So long as you don't have to pay it back now, the money is not real, just the monthlies matter.

This has red flags all over it. I bet the maintenance goes up again after you buy this place.

This is a gimmick. As as for inonada's example, its of little use here. First, no apt worth $500K is going up 35% in the 24 months ahead so the premise is pretty absurd. Second, if $25K is what a bank apporoval comes down to for you, you have no business buying an apartment--your finances are too tight and limited to make an apartment purchase prudent. This gimmick coupled with the price increase COSTS you money. Broker gimmick. If interested make a bid based on a strategy built on what you believe the place is actually worth. Seller shannanigans can be ignored.

ok, so the buyer gets a $500 discount and has to pay $138 per month extra on the mortgage ($25K at 5.25%). so if the buyer lives there for more then 7 years, he' screwed.

do you know why the maintenance is so high to begin with?

Not sure how comfortable any particular co-op board will be towards a seller "financing" the monthly maintenance. Very odd.

"This is a gimmick. As as for inonada's example, its of little use here."

Err, I was trying to spell out how one is suckered into the gimmick. Apparently I wasn't being silly enough in the second paragraph, and my proclamation of "So long as you don't have to pay it back now, the money is not real, just the monthlies matter" was not imbecilic enough.

"ok, so the buyer gets a $500 discount and has to pay $138 per month extra on the mortgage ($25K at 5.25%). so if the buyer lives there for more then 7 years, he' screwed."

OK, I'll take off my sarcastic hat and pretend your comment was real, ab_11218. The buyer is screwed no matter what, even if he just lives there for 2 years. You're thinking that by borrowing the $25K and getting out of paying $12K in maintenance while only paying $3K in interest, the buyer magically comes out ahead. Right?

Wrong. The buyer is still in the hole for the $25K, minus the $12K benefit, or $13K net. He STILL has to pay the $25K back after the sale. However, he'll think that by that time, "who knows what'll happen, the price will go up, and I can't really afford $500 a month right but I can afford $100, and I'll probably get a raise in a couple of years, so if I don't do it, I can't buy the place, so I have to do it".

So KW, after ab_11218's comment, do you still think my example is of little use here?

@ inonada: I think we're both on the same page here and agree. Sorry for missing the sarcasm.

NP -- apologies for not being more explicit on the sarcasm.

i didn't even bother going into the $13K that you'll be out, that should have been obvious :-)

Why is the maintenance "too high"? Because it's too much money for what you get compared with competing apartments, for whatever reason. The idea is the same regardless of price point.

Look at what this seller is doing to try to unload this apartment.

Is there anything on the horizon that is going to lower maintenance in the future? No? Imagine what you might need to do in the future to unload this apartment when you turn comes....And it will.

When you buy a more expensive property, and it appreciates by a certain percentage, you will make more money because it's on a larger base than if you had purchased a less expensive property.

But from an investment standpoint, monthlies are just money down the drain. Obviously, you appreciate and use the services you receive, and your taxes to NYC are important to you and to your community, so I don't mean to say it's not money well spent. It's just not well invested.

As I love to tell everyone who will listen: Real estate is an investment whether you like it or not.

WHAT? Just offer $50,000 below offer w/ a $750 credit. Who cares what this loser is asking?

Apologies all around, then, ab.

thanks for the feedback. i just wanted to make sure i wasnt missing anything obvious here.

How is making the seller pay an additional $13,000 an incentive?!