Hi all, My fiance and I are looking to buy our first home. We currently rent in a co-op and really enjoy the sense of community as well as the beauty of the co-ops in our area. The problem is that while I am a citizen (born and raised in New York), he is a foreign national on a (very stable and easy to obtain) visa. We would like to apply to co-ops as a unit, since our financial profiles... [more]
Hi all,
My fiance and I are looking to buy our first home. We currently rent in a co-op and really enjoy the sense of community as well as the beauty of the co-ops in our area. The problem is that while I am a citizen (born and raised in New York), he is a foreign national on a (very stable and easy to obtain) visa. We would like to apply to co-ops as a unit, since our financial profiles complement each other, and of course we both want to be equals on the share certificate. However, almost everyone says it's a big problem getting a non-citizen past a co-op board and that it would be better for me to apply alone and hold the apartment in my name. Does anyone have thoughts on whether the conventional wisdom on the difficulty of getting approved by a co-op board as a foreign national applies even when he can demonstrate significant ties (we are getting married next year and planning to be in New York long term) and he is applying alongside a U.S. citizen who isn't likely to flee the country to escape maintenance/mortgage payments?
Thanks in advance!
[less]
Response by front_porch
almost 9 years ago
Posts: 5321
Member since: Mar 2008
The devil can be in the details (which co-op? what kind of visa?) but the short answer is that many many co-ops will accept you if you present yourselves correctly. You really have two issues -- the fact that you are not yet legally married and the fact that a board might worry that your fiance would return to his home country -- but it sounds like you already have a sense of that.
Still, if you have any additional questions you can write me at upstairsrealty [at] gmail [dot] com . I'm a boutique broker who has been doing a string of London to New York relos recently, and one of my last deals was placing a foreign national on an L-1 visa in a co-op where she's very happy.
This is not to say that the board might not have other reasons for rejection, but I wouldn't worry specifically about this. Foreign citizens can and do get approved for coop purchases.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by dan@digsrealtynyc.com
almost 9 years ago
Posts: 114
Member since: May 2012
I've had several foreign national clients successfully purchase co-ops, most recently with a married couple in a UES building with a notoriously difficult board (they had pending citizenship applications). In my experience, it has not been an issue, provided that there has been a US credit history and sufficient funds in US bank accounts. As Ali indicated, it would help if you were married, but I don't think that will prove fatal for your application, especially if you check all the other boxes and since you are a born-and-raised New Yorker, presumably with deep ties to the area.
Thanks Fieldchester for unearthing that thread. My favorite part of that application was the business reference letter from the applicant's dad. Don't see that every day. Whatever happened with the Thandrayen case, anyway? Did it get settled out of court?
The devil can be in the details (which co-op? what kind of visa?) but the short answer is that many many co-ops will accept you if you present yourselves correctly. You really have two issues -- the fact that you are not yet legally married and the fact that a board might worry that your fiance would return to his home country -- but it sounds like you already have a sense of that.
Still, if you have any additional questions you can write me at upstairsrealty [at] gmail [dot] com . I'm a boutique broker who has been doing a string of London to New York relos recently, and one of my last deals was placing a foreign national on an L-1 visa in a co-op where she's very happy.
ali r.
In this case, the devil is not in the details.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/fhnyc/html/protection/citizenship-status.shtml
This is not to say that the board might not have other reasons for rejection, but I wouldn't worry specifically about this. Foreign citizens can and do get approved for coop purchases.
I've had several foreign national clients successfully purchase co-ops, most recently with a married couple in a UES building with a notoriously difficult board (they had pending citizenship applications). In my experience, it has not been an issue, provided that there has been a US credit history and sufficient funds in US bank accounts. As Ali indicated, it would help if you were married, but I don't think that will prove fatal for your application, especially if you check all the other boxes and since you are a born-and-raised New Yorker, presumably with deep ties to the area.
Dan Gotlieb
Digs Realty Group
www.digsrealtynyc.com
I did it twice and it was not an issue. I think it depends which visa you have. I had an H1B at the time.
Foreign national from where? http://streeteasy.com/talk/discussion/33006-f-coops
Thanks Fieldchester for unearthing that thread. My favorite part of that application was the business reference letter from the applicant's dad. Don't see that every day. Whatever happened with the Thandrayen case, anyway? Did it get settled out of court?
Fieldschester, FieldS, with an 'S'.
I was leaving off the S for Savings.