Coop Board Experiences-share yours

I recently went through the coop process. Most coop boards are more intersted in your financial shape than anything...want to make sure you won't default, have a stable job, etc. They ask you for all this financial info and have time to review it before they call you for a meeting, which in most cases is a formality more than anything.

Some boards are tougher than others but most are reasonable. When I was looking I worked with an agent and made sure to target buildings with easier boards - ones that don't care what you name your pet, allow sublets, guarantors, etc. The easier it is for you to buy would indicates how easily you could sell.

Make sure you get a good lawyer who knows NYC coops - and can do a thorough job of due dilligence before you sign the contract. Remember, you're buying shares in the building so you want to make sure your investment and maint fees aren't being squandered by poor management.

But you do get the advantages of ownership in terms of bulding equity, mortgage interest tax deduction, etc. Most buildings in NYC are coops (I think at least 65%). People complain about them but the horror stories you hear are more the exception.

Condos have a great advantage in that you don't have to go through this whole process...but they're more expensive & closing costs are higher.

Good luck!

checkout www.wallfly.com for some co-op board info