London Terrace Towers - Strict co-op?

I noticed that apartment listing. Very handsome. I thought the following was very nice as well -

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/540382-coop-470-west-24th-street-chelsea-new-york

I'm personally interested in the following, but it just seems too pricy for unit in 'estate' condition -

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/568613-coop-410-west-24th-street-chelsea-new-york

Fairly paperwork-heavy application, so gird your loins. I'd characterize it as a "medium board." Sublets are possible.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Thks. Reason I ask is I'm 25 but my grandparents would be buying the apt for me. Financials are solid and it would be all cash but obviously the fact that I'd be the tenant while my grandparents are the buyers makes things tricky. Any more insight on how London Terrace would handle something like this would be very helpful

Wow, 17A has great bones.

Ali - any online sources of the original Terrace floorplans.

The corner-building plans are at http://www.londonterracetowers.com/floorplans.html

The mid-block rental plans are at http://www.londonterrace.com

Hmmm, I'd always assumed the corner buildings were fancier, but below the 17th floor they're not. All the one-bedrooms in the rental buildings have separate stall showers, but they don't in the corner buildings.

Every time someone mis-renovates a pre-war apartment, an angel dies.

NWT the rental floorplans are often nicer - a surprise to those who have seen the rentals and think the co-op will be exactly the same.

MIA I am happy to help if you are not already working with a broker - I can be reached at ali [at] dgneary [dot] com.We are a@ neighborhood brokerage; my boss Gil Neary has been in Chelsea for 25 years.

Ali r.

The main advantage to the rental building is that the apartments have windows in both the kitchen and bathroom, while this is not true with some of the co-op units. If you are going for a 1-bedroom, the rentals also have layouts where the living room faces the exterior and bedroom faces the quieter courtyard - a nice option. I'd still take the C-line in the 465 tower over a rental unit any day of the week, though.

Thanks NWT.

Buster: 100% agree with your statement.

For floorplans in general, Columbia maintains a collection of NYC real estate brochures that are also available online. It's a substantial collection (but not exhaustive), and is a fascinating treasure trove of floorplans if you are a real estate junkie. Enjoy.

http://nyre.cul.columbia.edu/pages/places

And apologies to the Original Poster for getting off topic; I have no insight into London Terrace's co-op board process.

sublettors need board approval/board package submission at an additional cost..
I think you may have a problem with g-parents buying for you. They will look at your other assets and income as proof that you will be able to pay maintenance. Your g-parents should give you another million in addition to the pad.

Best option is they own it and you are approved by the board as their tenant.

yeah, I know about the avery collection - missing quite a few buildings.

What is the process like of getting the board to approve me as a tenant?
Do my grandparents need to have owned X amt of time before they could have a tenant? or any other restrictions like that? If so, that won't work for us

You should probably look into being on the lease itself. You don't want to be considered a tenant if something was to happen to your grandparents. Even if the apartment was willed to you, without the proper assets to back it up, you might not be approved by the board at that point. Even so, if you are, you would be responsible for the estate tax (if any) at that time.

Technically, if they 'gave' you a million dollars they would be paying the tax on that gift now at a much more reasonable tax rate anyway. I assume, if they can spend that kind of money, estate tax is a viable issue to consider with an accountant and attorney.

If you AND they bought it together, they would need financials from you too... but the combination of their and your assets/income probably would pass any thresholds.

Basically, stay clear of gaining tenant status. There is nothing gained by this and it's far easier to deal with the transfer of money/assets (read 'gifting') now then in a will.

Thanks. So basically don't be put on a a subletter, but be approved as a tenant? Would this be approved/denied during the board approval process or is it something we'd have to address after the deal's gone through?

sorry, I just am not too familiar with these real estate legality issues and such

sounds like gobri is advocating a co-purchase, where you and your grandparents apply to the board to buy the apartment together. That way, you've been approved by the board already, so when your grandparents die, they gift you the rest of the apartment, but the board doesn't block the transfer.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

That makes sense and I would gladly do that. my only concern is that I'm only 25 and making decent income but my no means enough to be able to afford this apt on my own (although I'd be able to afford maintenance). I have a very short financial history as well because I'm young. Would this be a problem?

That's part of what your broker does, is tries to make you look older and more mature than you are -- if you're not working with anyone, I do flat-fee board package consulting. You can contact me at:

ali [at] dgneary [dot] com

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Your current income/assets probably don't make as much of a difference if your grandparents ones are superior. The board will surely know what's going on though, obviously. Realistically, their ass is covered financially because they could go after them since they co own. In practice, they might still reject just because they are hating on a young guy having his grandparents buying him an apartment.

In terms of a package, you want to appear as professional and grounded as possible. Someone that's not free loading on the grandparents and going to party hard at neighbors (audible) expense. Your broker should be able to help.

MIAcanes07, don't know if your still thinking about this, but I live at LTT and this is exactly how my wife got our place. Co-owned with her mom, she pay's the maint etc for the last 10 years. We are now putting it on the market and the co-owned makes it a lot easier to deal with. Agreed with other posters, you want to be on the owner's shares certificate, and you can be.

good luck!

HI I am interested in buying a co-op in LT. We have about 3.5 to 4 yrs worth of post closing reserves and make about 25% of the value of the co-op per year. Our DTI is about 31%. We have no interest in paying in more to lower our DTI given that our debt would only be the mortgage/maintenance. Does anyone know if this would be sufficient for a place in London Terrace? To clear the board? (great jobs btw)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I lived in the building for many years. This is one of the most poorly managed buildings with an outdated board and management style. Douglas Elliman manages the towers and they can only be described as unprofessional, irresponsible and inefficient. They don't help solve any issues but add more hardship to residents lives. The shareholders as well as residents prefer not tackling the on going management and board issues because no one would like to have problems with people in the building they own or rent. I'd highly recommend not being deceived by the building's historical charm and staying away from renting or buying here.