Attorney to get me out of Co-op buyer contract

That's a tough one t2u, these contracts are fairly iron clad. You may get a bunch of recommendations to fail the co-op board qualification process or tank financing, but neither will do you much good. I agree you should talk to a good lawyer but, I would start to get emotionally prepared to either lose your deposit or go through with the closing.

What is the nature of your buyer’s remorse? Is it market related?

Go to the board interview dressed up as a clown... Or wear baggy clothes so that everyone thinks that your a gang banger. And when they ask you what you do for a living, say your an aspiring rapper!

JuiceMan, I got hit pretty hard with the recent economic crisis. I'm feeling like this purchase is now over my head. Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how I look at it), my finances still work for co-op board approval. For my own well-being though, my finances don't deserve what I committed to buy.....

Perhaps the co-op board will see that the purchase is too much of a stretch; otherwise, you signed the contract ............. Good luck!

So should he walk from the 10%?

You can be honest during your interview--I am not suggesting you intentionally scuttle anything--just that honesty is best. Explain you feel pinched since signing, that your economic situation is likely to worsen, you fear for your job security. Ask about the rental policy and how iron clad it is since you will likely have to rent the unit out while you move in with your parents/girlfriend/boyfriend/etc. Explain how you have no idea how you are going to make this purchase work for you. Not many boards would vote in such a candidate.

kylewest, interesting thought. How would the owner view that? Wouldn't the owner still have a legitimate argument to keep the 10%?

Would you walk away from the 10% deposit to cut your losses in this downturn? Would the owner have any claims above the 10%?

bump

I don't think you are obligated ever to lie to a board or be less than forthright during the interview. Quite the opposite. Showing up drunk is one thing--speaking the truth is another. I'd get official legal counsel on this, but I don't see where you end up losing the 10%. It may have to be litigated, though. Others want to weigh in?....

This is one for my boss, really (I've been in the business for a couple of years; he's been doing it for 25). I will try to remember to ask him.

My fear with the "just be forthright" approach is that the board might not turn you down but simply impose other limitations, so you suddenly find yourself stuck going through with the purchase AND having to put two years' worth of maintenance payments into escrow because you opened your mouth.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

I am in the same boat as the OP, except I am in contract for a new construction condo rather than co-op. We signed the contract back in April, and are supposed to close by year-end. However, since April everything has moved in the wrong direction - my liquid assets have taken a huge hit, plus my projected income for the next year or two has gone down, making the monthly mortgage payments much more daunting - "over my head" as the OP put it. Meanwhile, the value of the unit has probably dropped 20% or more. If I was a bank, I wouldn't give me a mortgage for this deal. So I may have to walk away from my 10%, or try to come up with some creative legal argument to get it back, or to negotiate a drastically lower price that I could live with. But right now, I am pretty sure all or most of my 10% is lost. As much as that sucks, it seems a better option than closing (assuming I could even get financing).

If you are prepared to walk away from your 10%, why wouldn't you go to the interview to see if they even "pass" your application? Read the contract with a lawyer and see what happens if they demand conditions like 2 yrs maintenance in escrow--can the seller hold you to that or is that tantamount to a rejection if you do not consent?

The contingent approval (with two years maintenance in escrow) is not approval unless the contract speaks to it. In my most recent coop transaction this was a point of negotiation and the language in the contract caused exactly this outcome (2 yr in escrow) to not be grounds for walking away from the contract.