We are in contract!

Yeah! Congratulations!

Congratulations, Ali. Welcome to the neighborhood. I look forward to crashing into you at Fairway.

Wonderful news. Enjoy your new home as I'm sure you will. There's nothing like owning your own home. Now it's time to help those first time buyers realize their dream of owning a home in the one of the greatest cities in the world! Looks like another great day in NYC.

Congrats Ali. Enjoy

Congratulations Ali!

Congrats, Ali! I am anxiously awaiting details!

Do you mind revealing the price per square foot price that was accepted?

Congrats, Ali. Exciting stuff!

congrats Ali. it must feel great to be getting some interior walls.

Congratulations Ali!

Yay - well done!

congrats ALI!! wishing you all the best

You will regret it.

specialkay1, how can you say that without knowing specifics?

Mazel Tov!

Good luck to you, my dear. You're terrif & thanx for sharing with us.

p.s. I'm surprised to hear UWS since you work downtown. Interesting. How is that?

Priced out of downtown, at least for now. I don't really think in terms of price per square foot (I think "do we want to be in this building?" and "does our furniture fit?") but the things we liked downtown (all co-ops) were in the $850-$950/square foot range, and with terrifying (to a freelancer) boards.

That's except for Chatham Green which we loved the location of (I'm extremely fond of Chinatown, and it would be very easy to work in Tribeca) but was really way more renovation than we wanted to take on.

Place we hope to buy -- we still have to do the whole board thang -- is in the low $700s. That's not quite as much of a steal as it sounds since it too will require extensive renovation -- nothing has really been done to it in a quarter-century -- but we could live with the kitchen and bath for a few years if we had to.

And we are getting the one thing we really don't have in our current condo, which is sunlight.

Thanks all for the good wishes!

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Congratulations, Ali, very happy for you! thanks to you I'm re visiting our own move from a studio to a 2 br. wow, that was fun!

Congrats, Ali! Sounds like a good buy.

Congrats! Get ready to enjoy Central Park.

Since everyone is so congratulory I have to think that you got a deal at 2001-2002 prices.
Wow! How did you manage that?
Every 2 bd listing I see on the UWS is still priced close to Q4 2008 closed deals, pre bubble burst. True, apartments that need renovations are a bit more attractively priced but still, there's not a whole lot that is affordable yet. It's one thing to claim that sellers should lower their expectations down to 2001-2002 levels and/or lower their prices by 50% but do you see any one doing it????
All this harping on sellers to lower their prices but do you see any major drops in the low end of the market (below 1 million)? I don't personally.
Ali, would you mind sharing the relative area in the UWS?

Congrats!!

cmaig, I think we got a deal at 2005 prices. That's partly because our target apartment is an odd size -- it's not a true 2-bed, and it would have been more expensive if it were.

If we had rolled all the way back to 2001, I would have bought back the larger Junior 4 I sold on 12th Street then for $500K.

Will share more details after we get through (gulp!) the board process.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

cmaig, everyone is so congratulatory because we love Ali; she's a real (estate) goddess.

If I were on the board, there's 0% chance that I'd approve you, Ali. Your income is based on commission in an industry that's dead. Unless you had a ton of money to put into escrow for the maintenance, you're just too much of a risk.

Slope11217: So buy her book.
http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Real-Estate-Rookie-Rebuilding/dp/1427754659
Then she can tell the Board that she enjoys a steady stream of royalties.

Ka-ching! But only three left.

Ali - I get the sunlight thing. When we lived in 777 we faced a wall, then in Windsor we faced north. When we just moved to face West - I was shocked to see all of my clothes in the light. 3/4ths of them were so stained I had to dump them. Ahh light - the good and bad. That being said it's so great to have light.

ccc - oh, my, I just moved into a north-facing apartment. I was thinking my wardrobe looked pretty good - in my old place everything was crammed into various small spaces, so suddenly seeing everything together has been fantastic. Perhaps I should rethink.

Ali, if I were on the board I'd approve you. For what it's worth. I have to admit that I got your book from the library, though.

Yeah, cccharley, light makes a tremendous difference.

Last week we visited an apartment for sale that faced west onto the river, but with a discernible northward tilt. Darn if the place didn't seem, dare I say, DARK! We were stunned at the difference when we returned home to our south-west facing rental, which was flooded with light. We made a mental note--no more northern exposures, even partial. Too gloomy.

Slope11217, how can you make a post like that without knowing her financial specifics?

You can safely ignore Slope11217. He rarely has anything useful to say.

Congrats Ali. Can't wait to hear more.

evnyc, forgiven . . .this time.

everybody else :>

I don't mind northern light, it lets you do pretty things with paint. I just like there to be some of it.

got to run and build those cash reserves!

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Sending you thoughts of prosperity & abundance!

gkh108: "Slope11217, how can you make a post like that without knowing her financial specifics?"

(1) I expressly qualified my first statement by saying that if she had a lot of money in reserves to put into escrow, that may be a different case.

(2) Find ANYONE who will argue that being a real estate broker in Manhattan is not a dicey proposition. You are working off of a commission, in an industry where sales are down roughly 75% year over year.

(3) Ali has made comments in other threads indicating that she is not independently wealthy; very much the opposite in fact. Nothing wrong with that, but when you add in her career choice, it adds up the risk.

So, I stand by my earlier assessment: if I were on a coop board in Manhattan today, and I was faced with someone who was: (1) a real estate broker (2) working off commission who (3) did not have significant reserves to put into escrow for the maintenance, I would not approve that person. Just too much risk.

If you think that's unfair, then you don't know coop boards--that's about as reasonable a reason for rejecting someone as you'll ever get from a Manhattan coop board.

Slope sounds very bitter...

Slope11217, you are correct, I am not well versed on co-op boards approval process. However, your statement seems to allure to Ali only, but I was under the impression that she is getting this new place with her husband who has a regular job in the city? Also, are you SURE that she doesn't have other sources of income, like commission off the book and/or write for another website that requires subscription that she gets a portion of the registered fees or fixed? Furthermore, while Ali has mentioned that she is not wealthy, exactly what is the benchmark for being wealthy? To most Americans, having a million dollar is wealthy, in NYC, not so much. She might or might not have more than that in her savings etc. If she had a mil+, while not wealthy by the NYC lifestyle, would she get approved for the board?

I stand corrected however, if you knew all her financials in details or have as detailed information about her financials as the board will.

waverly, NYFinancier, gkh108:

Are you 7? If not, then welcome to the adult world. Life's rough. Suck it up.

Everything I said was absolutely 100% legit--Ali works in an industry based off commissions where sales volume is down 75% year over year. I do not know her other finances, but when your primary job is in an industry that is down over 75% year over year, that doesn't bode well for you. That's a plain and simple fact.

NYFinancier--why should I be bitter? I make plenty, salaried. No worry, no fuss. Financial world for you isn't looking as rosy, is it?

Well, one thing a co-op board will look for is "reserve" -- or how much cash we'll have left over, liquid, after closing.

A co-op board process is one of those cases where you get a little bit penalized for being a solid middle-class financial citizen, because assets in 401(k)s, SEPs (my freelance version of a 401(k)), etc. don't "count" in the board's eyes . . . so they'll give us "points" for being good citizens who save for retirement, but to them, it would have been preferable if we had never squirreled our retirement money away and kept it as cash assets.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

I am not buying at these levels
Good luck !

slope - the point is that someone just purchased an apartment and they are excited about it. Perhaps you wouldn't buy, but that doesn't mean that's the right decision for everyone. The "adult" thing to do, since you are so concerned about manners, is to congratulate someone. Do you go up to a grieving widow at a funeral and tell her, "Hey, you can starting dating again!"?

Give me a break. The issue was never if your analysis was accurate or not. The complaint was that your timing and decency were sub par and there was just no need for it.

Ali - congratulations again....all the best!

HT1, you will never buy. You will keep looking for arguments whey the market should go lower. Than the economy will improve, rents will go up and you will still be in a rental... I wish I could buy now, unfortunately, I already own...

waverly: "The issue was never if your analysis was accurate or not."

I'd rather be right than anything else.

waverly: "The complaint was that your timing and decency were sub par and there was just no need for it."

You mean like calling someone a dick for being honest?

No, for being one. If you don't understand the difference, perhaps you can have someone else explain that to you since you don't get it.

Anyone want to help Slope out?

Nope, you said it all.

Keep burying your heads in the sand, boys.

I won't apologize for being HONEST and CORRECT. Grow up.

Slope, you're an idiot. You're a moron and can't unequivocally make your statement precisely because you DON'T know the specifics. The devil is in the DETAILS.

waverly, NWT, booyakasha:

You must all be brokers, right? For you to have this level of anger to a truthful statement, you could only be brokers. Who else gets so upset to hear the truth?

Given that, I'll say what I've said before about brokers: I hope that your salary this year accurately reflects the value that you add to each transaction that you participate in.

I shudder to think what Slope was going post on the julia thread.

tribeca
Just read

http://www.urbandigs.com/2008/10/stages_of_the_credit_beast.html

and tell me if you believe that we are at stage 11

Congrats FP. I'm surprised that you decided to move even more uptown. I figured at 57th St you'd have at least mild altitude sickness. Above 59th St, you'd surely have nose bleeds. ;)

Who is the bigger jerk? slope or nyc10022?

All the best, Ali. Mazel Tov!

Slope11217, how dense can you be? No one here said you are incorrect that I am awared of, definitely not me. Speaking for myself, I questioned how you can make such a strong statement without knowing ALL the details (something you even admitted to) and focusing on the one thing that you knew about Ali. I might be 7, but at least my reading comprehension skills seem to be higher than yours.

Again, because I know you need assistance you are busy making plenty of money and is... OMFG salaried, (because the fact that you make a living is relevant in the conversation and be able to throw insults out, what's next, your mom is fat?) I will repeat myself. You admitted you don't know all her finances. You based on your statement off the ONE thing you knew about her. You know NOTHING about her husband's job security and finances. As such, I questioned how you can make such an analysis. Unless Co-Op boards only looks at Ali's finances only, then I stand corrected.

Sorry to take away from your thread Ali, Congratulations again and good luck on your board approval process. My last reply on this thread.

"unfortunately, I already own..."

Freudian slip - lol

finally, we have all our recommendation letters! Hubby and I spent three hours last night playing with the co-op package . ..frankly we have had better dates, but at least we haven't killed each other yet . . .

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Good luck.. fingers and toes crossed!!

good luck, ali

Good luck, ali. Hope you will be very happy!

Good luck, Ali, I'll be pulling for you!

I say congratulations only. No need to say "good luck" to Ali. It makes no sense. The good luck is for the coop board, they should hope she doesn't change her mind. Remember, you know yourself, as a buyer, YOU are the one taking the risk, not the coop board. What do you know about the other 50-450 owners? drug addicts, unemployed, about to go bankrupt, make noise all night, have spy cameras in your bathroom, fart in the elevator, stare at your preteen daughter every time you pass in the lobby. I have always had a basic assumption about any organization that I choose to join; THEY are the lucky ones to have me want to join, and if they don't want me, that's perfectly fine. So Ali, this I declare. You seem like a lovely, honest woman, and I hope the coop board is shrewd enough and lucky enough to make a wise decision. peace.

Ali, dahlink, you & hubby survived that miniscule apartment; a board package should be a snap ;)

Best of luck to you both, xox

Hi Alison, I enjoyed reading your book very much. I definitely believe I am making the right career move for me. Much happiness in your new apartment!

Ali, I still haven't read your book. I'll have to pick it up. I agree with patient09, but i'll add good luck to cover all the bases.

Fluter, good luck to you also. There are good, ethical brokers, Ali is one, Noah is one, I have one. We could use some more of those.

Ali every good wish for your board interview (you don't need luck...not many people would have an entire online community pulling for you--especially one that can be as "non-supportive" as this one), closing, move and "next step". My mother had a wonderful Yiddish expression she used for these occasions but of course like most of that language, its buried with the past generation.

Thanks guys for all the good wishes .. we are still frantically xeroxing (much more fun to do for other people than for one's self) but I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

"wonderful Yiddish expression"

liz,
Vat vuz di expression? mazel tov?

Board interview last nite -- and the managing agent hadn't delivered our entire board package!

Board was very nice to us as we passed around sections from our copy.

Also, wouldn't you know it that I had a contact-lens attack?

I think it went okay, though. Will hear in a few days.

Thanks again all for your good wishes.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

congrats! I'm sure you passed.

Quoi?! Bad managing agent! I'm sure you passed with flying colors. Glad the hard part is over!

Does anyone know of a good managing agent? All I see is either incompetent thieves or just completely incompetent.

I recommended Soraya Mackhrandilall to someone else, and I don't know what they thought of her because I don't think they've interviewed her yet - but I know her as a real estate agent and she was scrupulous and careful in that role.

I think she was kylewest's agent, am I making that up?

you can find her at www.mackedge.com

ali r.
{downtown broker}

WE shopped for a managing agent several years ago when we couldn't figure out whether the ones we had were just incompetent or crooked and incompetent. Have been very happy with Ellen Kornfeld at The Lovett Company. She's honest, she's fanatical about the details, she watches every penny, she works incredibly hard.

Soraya Mackhrandidlall is one of the honest agents and a fair managing agent with a heart. I don't know what types of buildings she'll take on or even if she is, but she's worth contacting. Charles Greenthal Co. is also an excellent managing agent a cut above the schlock you find in the field.

I'd steer clear of Tudor--my experience with them in the past was huge turnover of employees, frequent incompetence, failure to return calls timely, not the greatest attitude.

I was just trying to be funny, not give managing agents a hard time. Actually, this might sound stupid or naive or both, but can I ask what a managing agent is/does?

we are closed! I'll start a new thread ...

ali