Managing Agent Board Package

What does the managing agent say is missing? Keep in mind boards won't bother looking at a package that does not have all requested documents included and many boards also require info to be organized in a particular order. If you are missing items the board will not accept the package.

Managing agent seems to be making up policies we have provided everything on the list and is in order and properly done. Agent is out of control asks for one thing then changes his mind. They are out of control is there somone above them? It's getting crazy and my buyer is about to walk.

wait--you say your buyer is about to walk. Are you the seller? If so, and you are unable to get clarification from the managing agent you need to contact your board (or have your realtor do it) to find out what the issue is. There is no one 'above' the managing agent but the board.

Yes I'm the seller and the managing agent and board are very entrenched. It's a very bad situation. That's why I was thinking maybe the coop lawyer. Agent said their not suppose to contact board members and I don't feel they would spek with my agent anyway.

Please remember that most buyers are surprised at the amount of unnecessary paperwork and get frustrated. Just make sure that all the remaining requirements from the managing agent are in writing. You have no choice but to put up with it unless you have a friendly board member who can help you by calling managing agent.

Board package is complete followed to the t. The managing agent is making His own policy , the agent is so entrenched that it is conflict of interest. We want the package moved forward. Board members will not be open to helping because he has them under his spell, he lives with one. Coop lawyer can't help?

And not following nyc realty standards

Your posts sound like you are very frustrated and upset and worried about the deal falling through. But perhaps you can take a step back and try to de-escalate the situation a bit. Whatever the board or agent are like, the ultimately do have a building to run and part of that is the buying and selling of units. There is no reason that benefits them for them to impede sales and purchases. So maybe there really is an issue with the buyer's package and they are trying to resolve the issue before it is submitted to the board. Sometimes an building agent may request a particular document thinking that will fill in a gap in the papers, but it turns out the requested document didn't contain the info that was needed so they suggest an alternative to see if that works. Any given buyer's financial picture can present unique issues that have to be ironed out if the package is to have a chance at passing the board. Maybe that's some of what is going on.

If you have a real estate agent, this is the sort of thing they should be working with the buyer's agent and the managing agent on facilitating.

there is nothing to be gained from a business perspective by treating these agents as the enemy. you need them more than they need you. the tone of your posts concerns me as a little over the top and if that spills over into actual dealings with any of the parties that can really work against you in this deal.

If the Managing Agent is doing their job correctly, they are trying to protect all of the shareholders. I agree with Kylewest, that the documents that were obtained may contain areas with gaps or perhaps areas of concern that would cause the board to reject outright without further information. As the seller, you are right to be concerned, though you may need to step back and take some deep breaths.

>the tone of your posts concerns me as a little over the top and if that spills over into actual dealings with any of the parties that can really work against you in this deal.

Kyle, you are actually "concerned"? It's that a bit ridiculous of you - what to be concerned about someone else's business dealings that have no impact on you? Also you forgot to update us on your stingy tipping: http://streeteasy.com/talk/discussion/40522-2015-holiday-tipping - of course I'm not concerned, just amused.

I think maybe there's a gap between "everything on the list" (which you point out the buyer has provided) and "everything that the agent thinks the board is going to want to see." Since, as you suggest, the managing agent is pillow-talk close to a board member, I would say the best way out is through ... just have the buyer supply the requested documents.

This is the buyer's job at this point. Even if the application seems perfect, the contract probably states something like the buyer has to make a good faith effort to supply the corporation with further information "reasonably requested" by the Corporation. So the buyer may be unhappy, but is probably unable to "walk" without contractual penalties. (I'm not an attorney, so ask your attorney about this if you want legal advice).

However, do realize that the buyer is probably quite nervous about timeframe (especially if he/she is financing and sees a possible rate increase looming) so I would present this to his/her agent as "providing these extra documents as quickly as you can is the fastest route to a closing."

ali r.
{downtown broker}

This is a cash deal, buyer has no debt. The issue is that managing agent is making up policy which changes day by day. There are some things we will provide for a 3-4 time I guess there getting lost.

Futhermore it makes it impossible to get answers when agent is refusing to speak with other agent.

Even cash deals get financial review (you can't sink every last penny into the apartment and have no reserves, and you still need income or an extra-large reserve for ongoing maintenance).

Not surprised the Managing Agent will not deal directly with the buyer's agent. Managing agent's responsibility is to the building/board/shareholders and they do not have any formal relationship with or responsibility to prospective buyers.

Get the Managing Agent to make their requests in writing (email), to your seller's broker/agent and to you. If he or she won't, your sellers agent should take notes of the phone call and email them to the managing agent as a record, including a request to correct if anything is missing or inaccurate. Your agent can then work with the buyer's agent to add the requested documents to the package.

If you can stop hyperventilating long enough to share more detail on what kind of policy the managing agent is 'making up' we could give you a perspective on whether it is typical/reasonable.

If you want to go the attorneys route and escalate the confrontation, your attorney (you have one lined up for the transaction, right?) could send the coop corporation and its board (directors) a letter cc'ing the coop's attorney. But as others posted, not the best way to get the deal done.

The agent is asking for a guarantor from buyer. According to policy he is not required to provide this for approval.

How do you know what is and isn't required for approval? Not all criteria are written and a board has wide discretion in determining whom it will approve to be a shareholder. Rather than just keep telling how insane everyone but you is, can you explain what you suspect is raising concerns for the agent and/or board? If you were for a moment to put yourself in their position, what is your best guess (other than mental illness) as to what it is that they are concerned about? If you can share than we can perhaps offer you some advice.

I'm not sure what is going on and with no commuication it's making this very difficult. We have provided everything asked and managing agent is asking for guarontor before package even goes to board I think maybe because buyer is young adult.

Well there you have it. Despite it being an all cash purchase, the board (via the managing agent) appears to have some concern about the buyer's ongoing ability to pay maintenance & any future assessment. Not entirely unreasonable, given the uncertainty of employment status for younger professionals, and the general economic conditions. There is some red flag in the package that the managing agent sees, and he's trying to get things squared away so the board can consider the entire package, guarantor included. I suggest that the managing agent is working to help you, not hinder you.

Buyer has no debt and is willing to give two years escow. Buyer has been in same job for many years.

Travel, Coops board can make whatever decision they like about their being convinced of the financials of the buyers. The logic does not have to prevail especially in a well established stuffy coop. You just have to make peace with the un-reasonability of the process and try to negotiate with the board member in a friendly manner. Managing agent is really trying to help you.

Wouldn't the board review package then ask for guarontor?

The buyer is a young adult who has been in the same job for many years, hmm...

Paperboy?

Lemonade stand operator?

You're getting hung up on a sense of fairness that is not actually part of the process. The board owes you equitable treatment as a shareholder, but can change its policies over time, and can request any buyer information or guarantee they want, as much as they want, as many times as they want. The package request list may often be sufficient but is by no means a limitation.

Focus on getting the deal done -- facilitating the hoop-jumping. I know it's hard to get past, but forget the hoops themselves and whether you think they're appropriate. Just get everybody jumping to the board's/agent's beat.

So you have a buyer who you describe as "young" who is not a student -- someone you describe as having a steady work history, but presumably not that long -- who has no debt and is paying cash for the apartment, and is additionally willing to put up two years' escrow.

My best guess (and I'm operating fairly blind here) is that the board is suspicious as to WHY this candidate has all this money. Is this candidate a drug dealer? Operating an off-the-books business? Laundering money for others? In addition to these suspicions, which speak to the question of character, the board is perhaps also wondering if the pipeline of money is so strong that this candidate might wander off and live somewhere else and stop paying maintenance (which speaks directly to the question of financial qualifications).

So they're asking for a guarantor because they're hoping that the money comes from the candidate's parents, and they want to see the parents' finances to make sure, and also to get them tangled up in ownership under the presumption that they won't skate away from their obligations, even if the kid does.

It does seem like a somewhat heavy-handed way to go about things, but if that's the narrative playing in the board's head, does that at least make more sense?

Your agent should be making sure that the candidate's personal references are extra-perfect and emphasize this candidate's rectitude. Also, if it were me, I would directly address the unasked source of funds question in the cover letter.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Yeah.. a coop can deny the buyer for any (or no) reason, so if the buyer doesn't want to provide certain documentation the board will just say denied!

The buyer is being gifted monies from parents which we have shown.

Travel, you've needed a little prodding but you've answered your own question. Children buying coops apartments with gifted money is not a favored situation with most boards. Many would flat out reject such an arrangement. My suggestion is comply fully wi all requests and be as kind and friendly and helpful as possible. And it still may not work. A condo may be a better purchase under here circumstances. I know it all strikes you as bizarre, but I think you can tell from one of us with a lot of experience with coop boards that we find this situation rather unremarkable in terms of the management agent's actions. Out of curiosity, how old is the purchaser?

I agree with Kylewest. It's typical of a co-op board to make the requests they have made with the situation you have presented. Someone young, being gifted money is often a no-go with many co-op boards and the brokers should have guided you better so that you were aware how common this is. If the board ultimately rejects your buyer- the buyer would find a much easier time buying a condo rather than most co-op's.

Sounds like neither of the brokers involved (if there's a separate buyer and seller broker) did a good job on this one. This type of deal should have never gone into contract unless the brokers knew the board would be OK with it in advance.

Buyer should buy a condo, condos can't deny a sale.

Sounds like managing agent is doing a good job here for the building.

Buyer is in his 30'd. Others have been approved without guarontor.

My agent keeps telling me that buyer doesn't need guarontor because of income and low debt to icome ratio. Bottom line buyer is frustrated and parents are only willing to be guarontors for maintenance.

Everyone's situation is somewhat unique so it is difficult to compare one buyer's financial picture with another's. Apparently there is something in this buyer's overall picture that is concerning the managing agent and board because I am willing to go out on a limb here and guess that they aren't lunatics behaving completely irrationally. On the plus side, it is unlikely the youth of the buyer is what concerns them since there is nothing you can do to change one's age. Parents buying for a child in their early 20's for example will typically not work at all no matter what in most coops. There is something here that concerns them beyond age. Is the line of work unpredictable? Is the company shaky? Is the nature of the work somehow off-putting or questionable? Has there ever been anything at all on the buyer's credit report that would raise a red flag or is it perfect? What is the buyer's credit rating? Does the buyer have any savings that will remain after the purchase? Has the buyer ever saved or does the buyer spend every cent? Is there something in these areas that illuminates why there is concern?

It is unlikely you can convince anyone the abandon the request that the parents are guarantors. So if they are unwilling to meet the conditions of the board (as communicated through the managing agent), the deal sounds like it will stall. Again, your buyer may be better off with a condo where there is no approval process.

The building in the last couple of years has been parents buying for kids, mostly students.

Kylewest buyer credit is very good and buyer does have savings. It's feeling more personal since I did not use this agent to sell my unit.

If the parents are willing to be guarantors for maintenance, and this is an all cash deal (no debt), then what else is missing? Sounds like they have provided what the board wanted

They may not be trusting of the buyer himself and thus want recourse against the parents if necessary beyond just maintenance. Still feel like full picture not being presented.

Kylewest this is the full picture I'm feeling because I didn't guve agent listing he's trying to get back at me.

Feelhong package hasn't even gone to board managing agent is one changing policy for my buyer.

"I'm feeling because I didn't guve agent listing he's trying to get back at me."

Which agent are you referring to?

Travel, I hope that you're able to grease the wheels with the buyer and indicate that they have an obligation (per the contract) to supply the additional documentation, which seems reasonable.

Separately, it seems that neither your broker, nor the buyer's broker, had a good understanding of the situation and the board's requirements. This is a big issue for your broker--ultimately their lack of experience and ability to read the situation from the managing agent has caused this situation. How much experience did your broker have with this coop? This type of building?

They could be describing a situation similar to the one described here, which could raise any number of red flags for a board:

http://streeteasy.com/talk/discussion/40553-co-op-board-approval

InterestedParty agent has sold many units in building, buyer has provided everything asked for. Board is trying to bind third party and ignore who contract is between.

So the managing agent is also a real estate agent who sells in the building -- and I take it you think that that's a conflict of interest that is stopping your deal. What does your attorney say?

Front porch it is very clear this deal will not close, attorney says same thing.

Don't buy into a building with institutional corruption or cronyism.

Need agaent Harlem area.

Is this on Convent Ave?

No semerum.

Ah, ok, I was beginning to think it was an MMM building