Owner leasing condo - must get approval by board?

The Condo Board has the first right of refusal. Sadly, it's more red tape so they can charge you BS non-refundable app fees and make money off you.

Right, they only have the right of first refusal. But, as condos get more established, they want to act more like coops. The owners like to forget that they bought into the condo so they wouldn't have to go through all the BS. And, then they put in all the fees to discourage renting - move-in, damage security fees, etc.

the lease approval is generally much faster in a condo than in a co-op (two to three weeks vs. six to eight) and you can generally keep renewing the leases and/or getting new tenants in in a condo.

Note that this is pretty much a rule of thumb for most, but not all co-op owners. I'm placing a buyer in a downtown co-op now where the buyers who bought in the original conversion plan all have unlimited sublet rights.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Thank you all for the help.

Question: What exactly is a "first right of refusal"?

I can see the BS and attempt to make $$$ off owners. Some of the fees I am seeing are crazy. $300 app fee? $75 credit check fee? non-refundable move-in fee? etc, etc etc...

Hi Ali - lease approval time is quicker yes, but I have always thought that a condo owner has the right to accept or deny a potential tenant, and not the condo board. I guess, live and learn?

V65

Condo can lease or purchase for same price as prospective buyer or renter. Obviously not done very often

The part about application fees is the one that sets me off. I recently negotiated a lease in a condo building, only to learn (once we were done negotiating) that the condo management company, Cooper Square, wanted to charge me over $700 for application fees. I hear it's actually closer to $900 in some places. The owner was clearly not happy either but he eventually agreed to pay for the whole thing.

If I was a condo owner I'd be seriously pissed: a condo that can't be rented as easily as others ought to be worth less on the market.

Thanks ph41,

Does that mean if they don't exercise their "first right of refusal", that the application has to get approved? Assuming of course that the applicant meets the financial and other stipulated requirements on the lease agreement? I guess what I'm asking is what OTHER issues can arise that may give the board the authority to refuse a tenant's application for a lease? Since there is no board interview like a coop, I thought this would be a simple matter of finding a tenant who has the proper financial profile. Obviously I was wrong.

sadbird - You're not kidding, some of the fees are insane. I still haven't read the entire document, but I think there will be additional fees in a tiny font sandwiched between the lengthy documents.

I just feel for my friend who has no idea how much he is going to have to pay just to rent out his unit. :(

Guys, I am a frustrated condo owner in Manhattan. I just got a tenant and we submitted the application. The management company asked for total of $1500+ to move in and took 20 days to get the approval. As result, I lost a month's rent with a loss of total of over $3500. The fees includes, $300 for application fee, $200 for procesing fee, $500 for tenant move-in fee, $350 owner administration fee, $130 for background / credit check fee for tenant, and a refundable security deposit of $500. They are worst than the organized crime... money paid and no "legal consideration" in return - and you are forced to pay for something of no value.

Putting salt on the wound, after my paying of all these fees, they told you that they will take 30 days to process the application and get the board's approval. That is another month of lost rent!

Btw.. they will also charge both the tennant and owner the "move out" fee!

What a racket! Can we do anything or we just have to submit and turn over like a good dog?

What percentage of the condo owners would favor no fees and no approval requirements?

Hi Sunday... that is a good question. I don't favor doing away all together. But it needs to be balanced, reasonable and transparent. If they are the watchdog, $200-300 and within one week turnaround time are the reasonable numbers for me. At this point, the "power trip," greed, and lack of transparency are the problems in my mind. We should start to lobby for some kind of changes... like a reform? !! :-)

Of course you have to get approval from the board. Owners should be resident, not investors. This is a mistake for owner and renter alike, and the board knows that and has set policies accordingly as much to the extent they are allowed.

I am curious too. If the condo exercise its first right of refusal to block me from moving in. Then the condo must rent the unit at the same price as agreed between me and the owner. Is that correct? If so I don't think the condo has any reason to block anybody from renting a unit.