Co-op Board Inerview

Subject: Re: Co-op Board Inerview

BKChickie wrote: [quote=KCYCLUB1477]Anone have expereince with meeting the board of a co-op as a prospective buyer? Im a little worried as I have absolutely no idea what to expect in terms of questions and the like.

You posted this on the PH board, too.

Clearly NOT Co-op material!

they will see if you are suitable to live in the same place they do.

So basically if you dont match their criteria, they will deny you.

disclosure: I've never been to a coop interview. However, I would assume this is like asking what an job interview will ask you. Depends greatly upon the people involved.

Basically, however, they want to ensure two things:
MOST IMPORTANT: you can pay and they will not have financial problems because you default. If you default it has financial consequences for them.
Second: you will not cause problems in the coop. (your quiet, responsible, friendly).

IMO

and you don't think they ran a credit check?

are you buying a coop?

have you looked over the paperwork well? had a lawyer look over the paperwork? i don't mean to be a bitch, but something about this sounds really, really shady

Did you hear about this co-op from a mysterious Nigerian benefactor?

as an experienced coop owner and former coop president, i urge you to see an attorney before you even meet with the board so you'll know what questions to ask.

bob dubno is a real estate attorney and his office is on president street and 7th ave.

they will go over all of your financials and question any tiny thing. this includes credit report, past tax returns, etc., which i'm sure you've already given them.

they will ask you about your work, whether or not you have any lined up, what you would do if you didn't get work for xx months. (if you were seeking approval in our coop, for example, and we were concerned about your uneven work history, we might ask you for a year's worth of maintenance payments upfront.)

they will ask you about your life, whether you have pets, parties, musical instruments. they may or may not call your references. they will ask you what you like about the building, why you want to move there, whether you want to do any renovations.

ask them what the building is like, whether it's quiet, do people get along, what will you be responsible for. will you need to serve on the board at any time, for example? can you bring your pet boa constrictor? stuff like that. and ask if your maintenance payments will go up and why. and ask them why they are giving you a coop for 10k.


in the meantime, you really should speak with an attorney. you should never buy *any* real estate without one. regardless of the fact that your aunt is on the board it sounds shady at best.

BP made some good points, I am on the board of my small co op and those are the things we would ask. We would also ask for letters of recommendation from personal and business acquaintances and also from your previous landlord and neighbors (to see what sort of neighbor you are).

But, honestly, if you didn't have a job now, our board would not approve you. I would think a lot of boards would feel that way.

KCYCLUB1477, I understand that you seem excited about this possibility. I don't blame you: my family is all in real estate and I'm a bit obsessed myself. And this sounds very very strange. In fact, I've never heard about anything like this, ever.

Now I am not saying, per say, this is not legitimate. However, ESPECIALLY since your aunt is on the board, it is more important for you to ensure your rights are being protected. That is a lawyers job. Among other things, to ensure that your contracts are all in order and all fees are being signed, etc.

The worst that can happen is you are out a thousand bucks for a lawyer to says go for it. Likely, they will find a few things here and there in the contract and help you out. Possibly: the lawyer will let you know that this is not, by any ways, purchasing a house, but rather a "rent-to-own" situation where you are getting screwed with putting $10k down.

None of us know you. In fact, we don't really care either way as we have nothing invested here. But we are all outside this situation and can tell you there are some serious red flags.

Please use your common sense here.

BrooklynJack wrote: When you say no mortgage do yo mean you are paying cash or the the coop has no exitsing underlying mortgage?

Unless I misunderstood, I think s/he was saying there was no payment other than the down payment of $10k and the maintenance fee, so no mortgage necessary because no further money would be owed.


TANSTAAFL

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

This sounds like something my SIL and her hubby did many many years ago. they used to say that when they were first married they owned a coop, yet, it was nothing like what we all consider a coop. they put money down on an apartment in a complex in Queens, and then paid 'maintenance" which was like rent (they also never had a mortgage). When they decided to move out, the complex "bought" the apartment back from them by basically returning the fee they had put down years before with a slight amount of interest. They were not allowed to sell the apartment themselves since they technically didn't own it the way we own our coops.

To me, this was not a coop, but they always said that is what it was called. Now, this was out in Queens about 35 years ago or so, but it sounds like the same sort of proposition.