This is slightly off topic, but what are the repurcussions if your shares fall below the value of your mortgage (assuming 1. you plan on staying in your place for 10 years or more, and 2. you believe the market will rebound in that time)? If you believe the NY market will stay strong or will get weaker but rebound before you decide to sell, I would think this shouldn't be a big deal? Also, I'm not sure how the appraisal factors in - if it's too low I understand that the bank will not lend the money, but what if it's just a little more than the price you are purchasing for? Is that a bad sign?

Posted by: spyre98 at October 20, 2008 5:34 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing

2:37: Thanks for the feedback. Like I mentioned, this is all new to me so this is really helpful, I will check the documents to verify where the surplus is going etc. The building is 100% owner-occupied. (And re: trusting lawyers, I agree about taking a careful approach, but I don't really have a lot of options on who to trust as I am not friends with a lot of coop owners.)

Posted by: spyre98 at October 16, 2008 2:52 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing

1:16 - The negative experience I had was with Manhattan Mortgage, but I'm sure it varies person to person. Could you recommend your broker there?

1:21 - That's a good point about financing, but I'm relying on my lawyer a bit, who said the building's finances and reserves seem strong (this is all relative and since I'm new to this I assume she is correct). The building did post profits year over year and increased reserves, so at a minimum that appears like a good thing. I also searched through all housing records back to '04 and only one unit had been sold in the building, but it appears the the building has appreciated significantly in value since then.

Posted by: spyre98 at October 16, 2008 1:46 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing

12:53 - I have verified that the coop will accept 90% financing. I tried to deal with a mortgage broker earlier, but he refused to provide APR (after asking twice) because he said 'it's irrelevant'. Not sure if that's true but I didn't get a warm and fuzzy.

12:55 - I agree, the market will probably come down. I'd like to wait, but we're in a tight situation where the space we currently have is way too small for the two of us but moving would mean a huge increase in rent (because we're in a rent stabilized place). The mortgage payments for us would be more than rental, but the space would be well worth it. Also, we plan on staying in this place for a long time, so even if the market drops in the next few years, we should still be in the new place for years beyond that.

Posted by: spyre98 at October 16, 2008 1:05 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing

We just used Joe Pasaturo from AVT Enterprises as well. He's recommended all over this site and that's why we decided on using him.

Joe is extremely thorough and knowledgeable. Some people seem to think he is overly negative but I found him to be very realistic (he told us what fixes were immediate, what could wait for a few years, etc.). Regardless, I think consumers are better off with too much information than too little.

I also found a post where someone did not like waiting for him to type out the report on his laptop. I'm not sure why that would be a big deal given that you can still ask him questions while he's writing the report. Again, I see this as a plus because the information is still fresh and you can ask questions as the report is being created.

Joe's prices were also right on par with what we've found for the area (this is a prewar building in Park Slope).

I highly recommend Joe. Feel free to contact me if you would like more information (my id at hotmail).

Posted by: spyre98 at September 9, 2008 12:20 PM in response to Home Inspection

It's about 1000sf. We've seen a lot of places in the area and haven't found a deal quite as good, but when I saw that sale price from '04 it got me a bit worried we may be overpaying.

Thanks for the feedback!

Posted by: spyre98 at August 28, 2008 2:26 PM in response to Assessing property value given past sale

Good luck trying to time the market. You never know what the peaks and troughs are until long after they've passed.

What if you pass on this place, and the economy perks up, and then all the buyers on the sidelines start panicking and run up prices again?

Seems like if you can afford it, and you really like it, now's a good a time to buy as any. As for specific numbers, there was a huge run up from 04 to q2 07, on the order of 50% or more. Will the housing market in NYC lose 50% in the next 3 years?

Posted by: Bolder at August 28, 2008 2:39 PM in response to Assessing property value given past sale

I know it is depressing to see the apartment (or a similar one) priced so much lower just a few years back, but you need to compare the current price with other similarly sized and located apartments on sale now. My husband and I just bought a 2 bedroom in Park Slope, and $700,000 hits me as being on the low end for a 1000sf place with outdoor space. (That said, lots of other factors impact price—state of the apartment, building, location, maintenance fees, aesthetics, etc.) Street Easy is a good place to look for recent listings.

Posted by: fawn at August 28, 2008 2:45 PM in response to Assessing property value given past sale

Bolder, prices already are run up...all the way to the top of the affordability range, and to be blunt there is just no way they are going up again any time soon. The fear of missing out is what created a lot of the bubble in the first place. In my view this is just about the worst possible time to by, notwithstanding what the snake oil salesmen -- I mean Corcoran brokers -- might try to tell you.

Posted by: lechacal at August 28, 2008 2:59 PM in response to Assessing property value given past sale

I think $700K for 1000sqft sounds about right to cheap--it depends on the finish level. But with barebones info it sounds like you are getting a good/fair deal. Good luck and enjoy the outdoor space!

Posted by: PHfamily at August 28, 2008 5:26 PM in response to Assessing property value given past sale

When you're dealing with a coop, you have to go with a bank that does a lot of financing of coops in New York, obviously. In my experience, that's Citibank and Chase. I used a broker, Manhattan Mortgage, and I thought they were wonderful. They are the biggest mortgage broker in New York, they find very competitive rates, they are incredibly fast, and they understand coops. Their deals don't fall apart.

Posted by: mopar at October 16, 2008 1:16 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing

I would be scared to buy in a co-op that accepted 90% financing.

Have you studied the finances of the co-op? How about the other shareholders?

Anybody else who bought into the co-op in last couple of years at 90% down probably owes more on their mortgage than their shares are worth. That's not who I want to have as partners in a corporation.

Posted by: phripley at October 16, 2008 1:21 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing

1:16 - The negative experience I had was with Manhattan Mortgage, but I'm sure it varies person to person. Could you recommend your broker there?

1:21 - That's a good point about financing, but I'm relying on my lawyer a bit, who said the building's finances and reserves seem strong (this is all relative and since I'm new to this I assume she is correct). The building did post profits year over year and increased reserves, so at a minimum that appears like a good thing. I also searched through all housing records back to '04 and only one unit had been sold in the building, but it appears the the building has appreciated significantly in value since then.

Posted by: spyre98 at October 16, 2008 1:46 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing

These are diffcult times, as we all know. Banks and coop boards are going to be extra conservative when it comes to approving loans and board applications. Even with very good credit, its difficlut getting a conventional loan, with 20% down. 10% makes it even more unlikely.

If you have the option, wait until you have enough of a down payment. Its a good market to buy in now, but its likely to get even better in the next 6 - 12 months.

Posted by: rkohlny1 at October 16, 2008 2:27 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing

Coops do not post profits. They may have operating surpluses -- but actually a coop's operating income should be very close to equalling its expenses. If income exceeds, is it being acquired for short- or long-term capital expenditures (and if not, why not?)? If so, what and how much? If only 90%, does a sponsor own units? If so, makes it harder to get financing as lenders want 100% owner-occupied. A lot of questions here (and not to be too cynical, we have had a lot of new owners trust their lawyers who told them squat!).

Posted by: BH76 at October 16, 2008 2:37 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing

2:37: Thanks for the feedback. Like I mentioned, this is all new to me so this is really helpful, I will check the documents to verify where the surplus is going etc. The building is 100% owner-occupied. (And re: trusting lawyers, I agree about taking a careful approach, but I don't really have a lot of options on who to trust as I am not friends with a lot of coop owners.)

Posted by: spyre98 at October 16, 2008 2:52 PM in response to Mortgage for Coop with 90% financing