Board not making a decision

>>>The board sat on the application for three weeks before our realtor sent a strongly worded letter to management to schedule an interview.<<<

This sentence is all I needed to see. Your realtor prodded the board after only three weeks? Is he/she insane?? No wonder the board is giving you static. That was a dumb move on your realtor's part. Most boards meet once a month and need time to review and discuss purchase applications. Pressing them for an answer after only three weeks is plain stupid. Your realtor (and you) should have known better.

"We just bought a coop in an upcoming area in Bklyn. It took more then 5 months to close. "

Who wrote that?

BTW Of the serious issues with the Coop you listed above, how much was disclosed to your buyer before they signed the contract?

+1 on bramster and 30yrs comments.

I didn't pay attention to the bylaws till a couple of days ago..neither did anyone else who bought into the bldg. We accepted the management and the board the way it is. There are no problems in the bldg. Everything runs. The management provided a detailed questionnaire to our buyer's attorney.

Our buyer is living with his relatives after selling his house and needs to move in soon and is pressing us to close. He is highly qualified financially. The board in the past approved buyers in a day or so.

30 yrs -- It took us more then five months to close because of the estate sale issues. The board scheduled us in less then two weeks after the package was sent and approved us in a day when we bought.

bramstar -- I don't think they meet monthly. They used to even approve buyers via email. I used to be chatty with them when I lived in the bldg and they were very friendly towards us. Also, all the past cash sales were closed in a month. I had been keeping them in the loop when we signed the contract to sell through the Super as the highest price sale which will help everyone in the bldg.

Recently, they gave hard time to another seller in the bldg after rejecting their first buyer (five months after the board package they scheduled the interview and rejected). Super had some beef with the seller regarding renovations. This recent development alarmed us. We are experiencing similar treatment.

We've bought and sold several times in Manhattan, Coops and Condos, and they all have taken 2-3 months for approval. I went back and looked at the last one a few months ago and it was exactly 2 months and one week. (The day after the board meeting they scheduled the interview. And they informed us after the interview was over that the buyer was accepted. Basically, they don't schedule the interview until they know they are going to accept--baring the interview ending up a total disaster.) We always bring buyers to the table who we know are extremely qualified (have turned down higher offers due to buyers feeling iffy to get approved) and even then the timeframe is the same.

Sounds like your board is all over the place, but I agree that a strongly worded letter wasn't the best approach. A polite email inquiring of the status is another matter. And making it sound like buyer is aggressively pushing you could be off-putting to a board. No one wants a pushy new owner.

A fine line.....

According to the buyer, interview went well. He works in technology and is a very calm and quiet person. Its been a week and the management does not reply at all to our emails and calls.

I have been super polite in my communications to the management and the board that buyer is living with relatives and would appreciate an expedited interview based on their earliest convenience.

The board doesn't want investors and is very concerned if buyers are potential investors. That was the first question they asked him. His recent sale of the house in Brooklyn and living situation only verifies that he is not an investor.

That letter was firm in asking regarding the delay for scheduling the interview and citing his qualifications as a buyer and again current living situation.

I agree our realtor seems to have less patience then I do. But, I can't dictate how they write their emails etc.

Remorseful,
Hopefully they are just verifying something that came up in the interview. I wouldn't think a week is too long. Though I know all too well the stress on both buyer and seller sides when you're waiting and at the mercy of a capricious board! Hopefully you'll hear something by the end of the week. GL

Thank you, RE10023. We are glad to be out of NYC for good and its horrible real estate market.

I have to say judging from the tone of your posts, you won't be missed.

I tried not to post but ha!

>>> I agree our realtor seems to have less patience than I do. But, I can't dictate how they write their emails, etc.<<<

Can you please come talk to some of my clients?

Yes, you are correct that it's time for a follow-up, but you don't do it through the super. You do it through the management ... if your realtor is too heavy-handed than maybe it's something you do directly... although as a broker I would say don't do anything without checking with your realtor first.

The tone and message are roughly: "Hi it's Taylor the owner of 6-B ... I just want to follow up on the status of my applicant to purchase. I understand that the board interviewed him a week ago ... and I'm wondering if they need anything else from him or from me? Also, do you know the timeframe for the decision?"

That's it. NOTHING about your potential buyer's convenience or inconvenience, and nothing about yours. And for heaven's sake, nothing about this being a cash purchase.

ali r.
upstairs realty

Thanks, Upstairs realty. Our realtor is an excellent communicator except when patience runs thin. They have done an excellent job!!