COOPS getting competition

Not surprising.

I was gratified to see that my co-op is already considered "progressive" in that we respond to applications with lightning speed (as fast as we can, really), and applicants DO have an answer after their interview by the next morning (and it's almost always "yes").

So it's easier to get into coops now...but once you're in, the boards can really mess with you (deny reasonable requests simply because they don't like you, make new rules, deny renters, deny potential buyers). Condo is THE only way to go. All friends who have owned coops have vowed: NEVER again! There is a reason why condos trade 10% - 20% higher per square foot than coops. Anyway, I do admit that if you have a good background, solid financials, are neighborly, and plan to live in the unit (not buy as an investor), you have nothing to worry about with a coop. But why take a chance that a small group of others, behind closed doors, can tell you what to do in your own home, which in this town you paid millions for, and potentially make your life hell? Once you're in, it's like Grisham's book, The Firm. Possibly the most hypocritical aspect of the coop board process is that most coop residents wouldn't qualify financially to live in the very buildings they occupy today; they bought those units decades ago before Manhattan real estate took off in the mid 1990's. Very few would be able to put down 50% to 100% in cash, then have 1x-2x the price left over in lquid assets. For a $2M coop they would need anywhere from $3M - $6M, in CASH. And if someone has that kind of money, they don't care about saving 15% on a coop - they will go buy a nice penthouse condo somewhere and moon the whole world should their heart desire it (including their condo board). Recognize...!

MouseNYC 3 days ago
Coops are a nightmare, because the boards are usually filled with retired people who have lived in the building for 30-40 years, as no one else has time, and the decisions that make are what is best for them first and then the other long-term residents, so good luck getting anything like a bike rack.

That and the fact that the building super has the ability to make everyone's live miserable, with bizarre rules about what work can be done in the building (the cleaning people need to prove they have workman's comp insurance, for one example), which apply to everyone but those on the board, and it makes for a horrible experience.

But it is NYC, where the laws of supply and demand prevail.

What a nightmare it can be to be judged by these fools.

This is a good thing and long overdue. Much of it is a result of the attached article that several of us remarked on a couple of years ago.

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/19495-nyo-river-house-the-has-been

MIB I get it that you and your friends hate co-ops and that none of them live in one. But with 80% of the stock are co ops obviously a lot of people don't have a problem with them. I don't know where you get your numbers from but I'm sure most buildings do not require 50 to 100% down or 1 x 2 times the price left over in liquid assets. If so, I doubt anyone could afford them. Co ops usually require 20 to 30% down which is not unreasonable since banks usually don't lend unless there is 20% down anyway. Yes, co-ops want strong financials but that may mean only 2 years of maintenance in reserves. Not unreasonable and if you're buying an apt I would think you would want that kind of cushion anyway in case of a job loss or other financial crises.

You buy what you can afford and want. If you want a condo go for it.

If you take a step back and think of everything as a long-term investment then it makes much more sense.

MIBNYC
about 14 hours ago
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Member since: Mar 2012
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>Possibly the most hypocritical aspect of the coop board process is that most coop residents wouldn't qualify financially to live in the very buildings they occupy today; they bought those units decades ago before Manhattan real estate took off in the mid 1990's. Very few would be able to put down 50% to 100% in cash, then have 1x-2x the price left over in lquid assets. For a $2M coop they would need anywhere from $3M - $6M, in CASH. And if someone has that kind of money, they don't care about saving 15% on a coop - they will go buy a nice penthouse condo somewhere and moon the whole world should their heart desire it (including their condo board). Recognize...!

>MouseNYC 3 days ago
Coops are a nightmare, because the boards are usually filled with retired people who have lived in the building for 30-40 years,

So MIBNYC, your logic is that the owners of the co-op, particularly those in charge who have been there a long time and will be most likely to sell - want to make it really difficult for themselves to sell, and want to lower the reputation of their own building such that its unpleasantness is well known to potential buyers in order to deter them?

"All friends who have owned coops have vowed: NEVER again!"

Good riddance to them.

They were most likely the troublemakers for which God created co-op boards in the first place.

Not everyone can make the cut. This is why there are now condos.

COOPS in manhattan has beautiful buildings. The sad part that most of you COOP MOFO BOARD MEMBERS are composed of retired idiots that currently don't make 1/5 or 1/10th of what the applicants make but live to pass your bias judgements on their financial packages.

That makes sense Kasmir, the goal of co-op board members is to keep prices down.

But sometimes even Lenz, who’s been called 'Jaws' for her aggressive tactics, can’t get the deal done. As she told CNBC: “One of my most challenging days was the day I had to take Mariah Carey for her board interview for the potential purchase of Barbra Streisand’s apartment. It took seven months to get her a board interview. “ Lenz said she advised the singer to dress soberly for her meeting, as if “for a funeral.” “So she comes out of the stretch limousine, and she’s dressed in a mini-skirt and little black top. There was exposed skin,” Lenz recalled. “I said: ‘You’re dressed for a funeral?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, this is how I dress for a funeral.’”

Carey’s interview with the apartment board didn’t go as planned. She was asked about the American rapper and hip hop artist known as Notorious B.I.G. , with whom she’d collaborated musically. The rapper allegedly was a drug dealer before he found fame in the music industry. Lenz said that the board was “really grilling her. They say, ‘Will Notorious B.I.G be visiting you often? And she responded ‘Well, that would be difficult since he’s dead.’ ” The rapper had been murdered two years earlier. Lenz said the board thought Carey was “being flippant,” and rejected her

Thanks MIBNYC. I remember my last real estate transaction with Babs and Mariah. You should have seen the rider.

Did you need a UHAUL Hunter ?