Hello, I had a couple questions. One place I'm looking into is an apartment in an HDFC building (upscale-ish neighborhood). It's in a small co-op (8 units), and the selling broker told me that sometimes the income requirements can be waived (I guess, by the board??). Is this even allowed? Is it ever done? I thought that this was set by the city, and not "waivable." Also, what about a co-op with 8... [more]
Hello,
I had a couple questions. One place I'm looking into is an apartment in an HDFC building (upscale-ish neighborhood). It's in a small co-op (8 units), and the selling broker told me that sometimes the income requirements can be waived (I guess, by the board??). Is this even allowed? Is it ever done? I thought that this was set by the city, and not "waivable."
Also, what about a co-op with 8 units in general? I know that certain rules and regulations change when under 6 units, but is there anything special about a building with 8? (aside from just the danger of a small building with only a few residents contributing to potential mishaps and maintenance).
Also, does anybody have any experience living specifically in a HDFC building? Lifestyle-wise? I've lived in both big and small buildings, and like certain aspects about each, but never an HDFC building. What is the living like? Will it feel like projects? Can they be nice/have nice neighbors?
Thanks for your input.
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There are a number of HDFC threads here, just type those letters into the search box to find them. I think you'll find them all helpful. In particular, look for knowledgable comments by eliz181144.
HDFCs vary, just as other kinds of buildings do. No one can speak for all of them. My neighbors are uniformly lovely--our building has a very diverse mix in terms of many demographic categories (including race, age, profession). Some of them have been here forever, others bought in recently, as I did. There is nothing even remotely like a project in our building. (I assume when you say "like projects" you mean dangerous, run-down, characterized by poverty--that sort of thing. I suspect not all projects are the same, however, and that some are much better places to live than others, but that's a whole other topic ...) Anyway, mine is a gracious building pretty much indistinguishable from any other co op on a nice street in a nice area.
HDFC Income requirements are set by individual buildings, in line with city guidelines for buildings in the HDFC program. In principle, they shouldn't be waived, but I have hear that this sometimes happens. I think it's also the case that there is a fair amount of room for interpretation of the income ceilings, especially in cases where different years show different income totals. These things aren't alway cut and dried.
I can't say enough good things about my experience buying an apartment in an HDFC building. As a result, I have several friends who are looking into doing it now after seeing my place or hearing about my experience. We're all middle class, professional people who aren't sitting on huge piles of cash, but who value the idea of value home ownership. I did find many parts of the process of buying my apartment to be annoying and arduous, and occasionally frustrating, but it was so, so worth it in the end. For a lot of people, this is now the only realistic way to aspire to home ownership in Manhattan.
See alanhart's comments at http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/35874-can-hdfcs-finance-me-directly, starting with "HDFCs are snakepits."
Hi there--
There are a number of HDFC threads here, just type those letters into the search box to find them. I think you'll find them all helpful. In particular, look for knowledgable comments by eliz181144.
HDFCs vary, just as other kinds of buildings do. No one can speak for all of them. My neighbors are uniformly lovely--our building has a very diverse mix in terms of many demographic categories (including race, age, profession). Some of them have been here forever, others bought in recently, as I did. There is nothing even remotely like a project in our building. (I assume when you say "like projects" you mean dangerous, run-down, characterized by poverty--that sort of thing. I suspect not all projects are the same, however, and that some are much better places to live than others, but that's a whole other topic ...) Anyway, mine is a gracious building pretty much indistinguishable from any other co op on a nice street in a nice area.
HDFC Income requirements are set by individual buildings, in line with city guidelines for buildings in the HDFC program. In principle, they shouldn't be waived, but I have hear that this sometimes happens. I think it's also the case that there is a fair amount of room for interpretation of the income ceilings, especially in cases where different years show different income totals. These things aren't alway cut and dried.
I can't say enough good things about my experience buying an apartment in an HDFC building. As a result, I have several friends who are looking into doing it now after seeing my place or hearing about my experience. We're all middle class, professional people who aren't sitting on huge piles of cash, but who value the idea of value home ownership. I did find many parts of the process of buying my apartment to be annoying and arduous, and occasionally frustrating, but it was so, so worth it in the end. For a lot of people, this is now the only realistic way to aspire to home ownership in Manhattan.
Good luck with your search.