Sale at 79 Hamilton Place #21

79 Hamilton Place is an HDFC so it isn't surprising that it isn't in great financial shape. I put an offer in on a unit there about 2 years ago and the financials were better than a lot of other HDFCs and I don't think that they were behind on sewer/water at the time. Almost the entire building has changed hands in the past 1.5 years and I would imagine that the new shareholders would have an interest in making sure that it is managed better than it was in the past.

That being said, never trust Willie Suggs. I mean NEVER! Don't trust a word that comes out of her mouth. Do not trust her employees, and do not trust any document that she gives you. JUST DON'T TRUST HER! I have met a lot of sleazy people in my life, but she is an absolute snake. She is almost legendary in how absolutely sleazy she can be (google her).

If the almost entire building has turned over recently, I would be concerned to see if they had paid the portion of flip taxes that were supposed to go back to the city. A lot of HDFC Coops are not collecting and paying these. With the recent focus by the current administration on HDFC's, I think there is SOME chance the city will go after people/coops who have not paid what they were supposed to, which could create a fairly large liability.

Many unwise coops, including HDFC coops eliminated their flip tax which the board has the legal right to do. Flip tax in HDFCs does not go to the city, it's for the buildings reserve fund. The only obligation HDFCs have to the city are the income restriction and paying their RE/water/sewer tax. Are you an HPD/Uhab troll? The current admin only wants to pump up their affordable housing numbers. It's all political, they don't care about HDFC buildings.

Sorry, miker430, you are wrong on that one. Most don't pay the required flip tax to the HDFC, but that doesn't mean they aren't supposed to. I've done several deals where we bought foreclosed HDFC units and had to make substantial payments to the HDFC every time. There are TWO flip taxes which total 70% (not a typo) one to the Coop for the reserve fund and one to the HDFC to further fund the program. If you don't believe me, read the Offering Plan (now, each offering plan is unique so there may be some that don't have it, but the standard HDFC Coop Offering Plan does.)

And as far as the administration not caring about HDFC Coops:
https://therealdeal.com/2016/09/28/city-mulling-big-changes-to-hdfc-rules/

Many HDFC's have had their regulatory agreement with the city expire- so the 70% flip tax rarely applies today. At this stage in the program, many buildings only have a flip tax payable to the building itself.

If their agreements have expired then they are not HDFC Coops anymore, are they?

That would be an inaccurate statement. The co-op is incorporated as an HDFC. It is possible to change the name, but this rarely happens. Next, just because the regulatory agreement has expired, that means the building doesn't owe the city a flip tax. If the building maintains affordable status, the tax benefit along with discounts on water/sewer and heating costs are still relevant. Part of the reason why so many HDFC's are so upset about the newly proposed regulatory agreement is that so many of them have completed their requirements with the city- but yet the city is trying to force them into a brand new regulatory agreement- which includes forced monitioring (even if they are well run- now they would need to pay for this) , caps on prices as well as other enforcement related issues.

So they want the benefits without any of the obligations.