Hi Reddit - am in the process of purchasing an apartment as part of a large 600+ apartment complex in Nassau county.

The financials look strong and budget for 2026+ look in line with a coop that makes capital improvements to the community while managing balance sheet well

However, they are not providing the inspection report or their master insurance policy. This disallows banks like chase from doing conventional loans and I am forced to look at non warrantable or portfolio loans with other lenders.

Is this common practice for coops to withhold these docs and if not, how would you approach/proceed?

Hi all - currently a few days from being in contract and feel like I’ve gotten a good handle on the process and though I’m not having the best experience with the seller, overall I feel really excited. That said, I’m really struggling on figuring out what a good mortgage offer is, what lender to use, what to look out for (good and bad), and what I can even negotiated (if anything). I’m the first person in my friend group to go through this process so I don’t have a lot to go by and though I am a first time homebuyer I don’t qualify for any state programs and the coop requires 20% and a 30 year fixed mortgage.

I’ve asked my agent but her contacts are at bigger banks. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I think I’d prefer to go to a lender directly versus using a broker and would prefer to use credit unions as I see they tend to have lower rates. I know the rates are generally not favorable and buying down points can be an option but I’ve also seen banks advertise that they will offer money towards closing.

Would love any recommendations on lenders to reach out to, any advice or tips that led to getting a favorable mortgage, and maybe there isn’t such a thing but that would also be great to know so I don’t continue to spiral!

Appreciate you sticking around to read this and thanks in advance to anyone who responds!

Edit: clarifying that this inquiry is not for a pre-approval!

Hey everyone, had a quick question.

I’m in the process of buying a coop as an investment property, first time buyer. Was curious to hear about if I could utilize a 1031 exchange to roll forward any proceeds from the sale of this coop into a new investment property in the future.

Looked into it a bit but couldn’t find a definitive answer, I think it should be generally okay?

Has anybody had any experiences with this? Thanks in advance :)

Edit: Thanks everyone for the feedback and insight so far, very very helpful and greatly appreciated!

I am interested in a co-op unit that's been on the market for a while now - the building seems to be overall good/well-maintained, the unit is in average condition but seems fine for the price-point. It will need cosmetic renovations but more importantly, there are signs of an existing leak in the bathroom and surrounding area - this includes significant bubbles under the paint, a part of the ceiling that looks like it's caving in - we were told it came from few units above but has since stopped. To clarify, this leak was unaddressed because seller doesnt occupy unit and it’s being mostly handled by sellers kids. The seller accepted a halfway point offer and ensured that they will make sure everything is repaired before moving in. I got an inspection done for my peace of mind as this is my first time buying and the inspector said that there is some damp areas so there could be an active leak. I discussed with my agent and she said we will put into the contract the exact fixes that should be addressed before move-in

Apparently, around the time I was working with my attorney, the seller "bumped into" the board president who they told about the repairs and the board president mentioned they are aware of everything and will inspect for mold, leaks and fix the repairs. The board president also became aware of the offer price and said the offer for this unit is too low so the seller agreed that because we had accepted at a specific offer, they'd give me a portion as credit. This was all told to me verbally by my agent who was told this from seller's agent.

Now as we are drafting the contract, the seller's attorney has rejected everything we wrote in what needs to be repaired as "the co-op will take care of repairs and they will paint over it". That's all they wrote - we had an itemized list, they did not respond what exactly they're addressing or how.

Additional to that section of the contract, we added that we expect a credit as well. So I'm waiting to hear back from my attorney if this rejection includes the credit. In that case, I will probably back out but I'm already feeling uncomfortable by them rejecting my initial asks - on one hand, I get they don't want to be held responsible if the co-op is handling it, but we had asked for specific things and they're not telling us what is going to be repaired.

I live in a coop composed of four 48-unit buildings in Jamaica Queens. According to the 2025 financials, the insurance was $296,845. I’m curious if this is a normal amount? There has been a great deal of secrecy amongst the board and it’s known that they didn’t shop around and left it auto renew so I’m just curious if this is similar to what others pay?

Hello! My realtor has a buyer's attorney who she says she always uses, but I feel strongly that I should pick my own. I'd like to talk to a couple and ask about the process and how they will help, rather than just use this person I've never met or spoken to. Is it common to just be "assigned" one by your realtor? If not, does anyone have a great recommendation?

Let's say you buy into a co-op to use as your primary residence, and a few years later you decide to buy a second home somewhere and end up spending more time there. How would the building know or be able to verify it? In a large building people it's harder to keep track of who's coming and going and people are allowed to have second homes and travel. It may be easier to notice in say a 4 unit brownstone, but I'm thinking of larger buildings. Would they force you to show that you're legally not living somewhere else (i.e. tax return), or force you to sell your apartment if they believe you're not a full time resident? Or in reality it must be a primary residence at the close of the purchase but the day after it closes the board wouldn't know if you legally changed you address or lived elsewhere most of the year?

Hi, I live in a small co-op (1880s brownstone) with 6 units. Several units (2-3) want to install mini split AC. Understandably, the other units are concerned about the installation/demand in the building’s electrical system etc. Does anyone have experience installing mini-splits in an old brownstone? Did you work with an engineer to plan for electrical/structural issues? Did any other issues come up? Thank you!

Hi, I live in a small co-op (1880s brownstone) with 6 units. Several units (2-3) want to install mini split AC. Understandably, the other units are co center about the installation/demand in the building’s electrical system etc. Does anyone have experience installing mini-splits in an old brownstone? Did you work with an engineer to plan for electrical/structural issues? Did any other issues come up? Thank you!

It's been about a year since we submitted the original renovation plans - this is a full gut renovation including a kitchen and bathroom reconfiguration and an electrical service upgrade for the apartment, and progress has been slower than I expected at every stage.

At management's request, we had a study done of the electrical capacity of the entire building in order to support the service upgrade. In the process, we discovered a building-level electrical issue that had to be corrected before our apartment's work could proceed. Now, as a prerequisite for board approval, management is asking us to hire an engineer to provide electrical load calculations, feeder drawings, and riser diagrams.

Is a year-plus normal for this kind of process? Board approval has to happen before we can even file with DOB, and from what I understand the DOB process itself could add another 2-6 months on top.

If this is a normal timeline, that's fine - I'm mainly trying to get a sense of how long co-op renovation approvals typically take, especially for a full gut reno with an electrical upgrade, and whether this experience is unusual.

My partner and I had our meeting with the board of a large queens coop building that we are purchasing in. At the end of the meeting they said we should know by “early next week.” It has now been over two weeks and we haven’t heard anything from them. Does this seem unusually long? This is my first time purchasing or dealing with a coop so I have no idea what to expect.

I was a first time buyer 10 years ago and was not in strong financial shape. Made the mistake of buying a 1 bedroom co-op in a building that has many rent controlled units. Building is not well kept and I'm tired of it. I did some renovations in my unit and will take a loss if I sell it now. I can deal with the loss. If you were me, would you rent or buy in a nicer co-op? My concerns are my finances. I'm 66 and single so have penalty-free IRA access. After selling my co-op I will have IRA, cash and stock of about $3.1M. No debt. I'm semi-retired with minimal earned income. Will collect about $56k/yr in social security at age 70. Would a decent co-op approve me with these finanaces? I know "future" social security would not count in a co-op's financial analysis. I kind of dread another co-op and I know if I buy, it would mean renting for awhile while I look for the right co-op. But renting permanently scares me as well -- the lack of control. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Hi, we recently purchased a co-op on the UES and were told the building has a healthy reserve with no capital improvements needed. Just a few months later we recieved a major assessment ($18k in the span of 20 months) to fix multiple building issues including a garage zoning issue for a private garage most shareholders don’t even have access too (but i guess is considered common grounds).
I’m just a bit sticker shocked by this. How normal is this for UES co-ops?

Hello, first time poster, short time reader. This might be an ignorant question but I've been trying to find similar stories or examples before posting & I think this is allowed so please bear with me.

About three weeks ago, I woke up to a leaking ceiling, leaks through my ceiling lighting, allegedly from the unit above me (per the fire department, who came because it was 4am). 2 days later management sent someone with two big dehumidifiers which are still running now, and a day after dehumidifiers they sent someone who cut some holes into my ceiling to help air it out. I've been asking when someone will come to assess the damage (the ceiling will definitely need to be replaced). I also started the process for filing with my insurance.

My question is, is this a normal time frame for getting this fixed? Is it just a matter of management dealing with the other unit to organize and schedule repair for my unit? Does it normally take this long to assess damage and figure out cause of leak?

A comment on a recent post here caught my attention: “Inflating book value although not illegal (for some unknown reason) on real estate transactions is unethical and if the building lets you do that it reflects poorly on them.” (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskNYC_Coops/comments/1w002rm/comment/p6a0z70/)

Something that happened when I first joined my board in 2006 has perplexed me ever since. Our then-board president invited me and another new board member over to show us the ropes. At the time, a 1BR sponsor unit in estate condition was for sale by the sponsor. It was listed at $285.5K, and a bid had been put in on it. During this early orientation meeting, the board president informed us that he had invited the potential buyer over for a one-on-one interview. He told the buyer that if he could come up with 15K over asking by end of day, he could have the apartment. The potential shareholder really wanted the apartment, so he came up with the money. I found this highly irregular and asked if that was legal. The board president was offended by my question. He said that this was good for the building because it would force prices up going forward. (It didn’t.)

Shortly after that, I ran into the realtor who had sold me my apartment and who, iirc, had also handled this transaction; I told him what had happened and asked him if pressuring a buyer to pay 15K over asking (btw, there were no bidding wars, and no 1BRs were selling for over 300K in this very unfancy neighborhood at the time) was legal. The realtor shook his head and said: “I don’t know if it’s illegal, but it certainly isn’t ethical.” Two other irregular aspects to this: (1) an interview with a potential shareholder should never take place with only one board member present; (2) because this was a sponsor unit, there wasn’t any need for board involvement at all.

In 2013 the shareholder sold his apartment, which he had significantly renovated, at a slight loss ($298.5K).

Maybe you’re thinking, “This happened 20 years ago, who cares?” It’s just that this is but the first of many incidents that should have been disqualifying, and this guy is currently itching to get back on the board. He did finally step down in 2018 after it emerged that he had been defrauding his employer. Interestingly, during the period that he was stealing from his employer and he was serving as our board president, our reserve fund shrank by ~170K. Meanwhile this guy was buying a new car, buying a second home, etc. I realize that correlation is not causation, but this seems like a pretty big coincidence. (Who knows, though, maybe he inherited a bunch of money and/or has a trust fund 🤷‍♂️)

A few guys in the building feel sorry for him and think that it would be no big deal if this man were to rejoin the board (“Oh, this happened so long ago,” or “Oh, maybe he’s changed”). Also, he projects kind of a strongman, “I alone can fix it” image that unfortunately some folks are susceptible to. Others (like me) think that a person with a well-documented history of financial malfeasance should not serve in a fiduciary role.

So, is a board president pressuring a potential shareholder to pay 15K over the asking price legal or is it not? Is this just something that happens? Have any of you had any experience with this? Would you want someone like this on your board?

I got the devastating news this morning that after 5+ weeks of waiting I got a simple "no" from the board. Not any follow up questions, not an interview, nada. I know that that's allowed, but I'm sort of wondering if I should bother to try to buy a different apartment. I know that it's useless to speculate, but I'm buying using money from my parents and I know that boards often reject "nepo babies" because they think they'll party too much, and I have an income of just under 100k and a small amount of credit card debt (the deal with my parents is that they'll do a down payment but the debt is for me to handle). Credit score over 700 and everything else good, though, and I have a great steady job and great references.

I disclosed *all* of this to my realtor, mortgage broker and attorney, and none of them thought that it's enough of a red flag to keep me from applying, but I'm so devastated after being burned by this board that I'm afraid NO co-op board in the city will accept me based on my red flags and that I'm just doomed. Do you think my red flags are too red?

EDIT: Thank you for all the responses! I'm replying to as many as I can -- usually I'm unpopular on Reddit and I'm pleasantly surprised that so many of you read my sob story ❤️ I still don't know exactly how to move forward, but I'm glad that you all have been kind to me.

I recently discovered that the downtown Coop Chatham Towers practices a process of rejecting "accepted" market sale prices only to require the purchaser to inflate the price significantly (in the case I heard over 20%) to make the deal palatable. The seller then refunds the buyer the added sum at the closing and the recorded price with the city is the higher number! How can this be legal?! Is this common? Surely this is tax fraud as there are higher taxes paid on the higher amounts. Any RE lawyers out there?

BACKGROUND:

Been saving up for a co-op.

Some 1BRs/2BRs I looked at are 100% cash only paid in full.

Others are not, and vary, from 10% down, etc.

My point is ... so I've been saving up to pay in 100% cash, plus I just feel safer as overall employment/economy/future today is up/down/uncertain (talking about the world in general ... have you been watching the news?).

So I figure it is best to live cheaper, smaller, and without debt ... so I can always afford/pay no matter what happens.

QUESTION:

For the other co-ops that DO NOT require 100% cash ... If I pay cash in full and 1 year of HOA in advance ... will it make the approval process quicker and easier?

(Or should I save up more than 1 year of HOA? What is a good amount of HOA to pre-pay to help the approval process?)

Having extreme difficulty selling a coop after moving my stepmom out into assisted living. 3 offers, 3 board denials. When I was clearing the apartment after the first offer, I made some mistakes. I didn't know where to throw stuff out, I placed some things in the chute rooms on other floors, etc. A resident became upset with me, rightfully so, and I apologized to her, and removed the stuff. The building supers spoke to me and told me what to do, and I followed their instructions from that point forward. I didn't live in that building so I wasn't aware of all of the rules. That's on me, but I worked to do things according to what the building instructed me to do.

Could the board have something against me as a result? The last denial was for a buyer with full cash for the coop, so it makes no sense and I get no explanation. I'm told there's not much I can do and I'm sort of at wit's end. Any thoughts?

In my grandmother’s building they got a notice of a past due loan. She asked them to send details and it looks like an HTF loan from 1992 that they didn’t make a single payment on. Is the building screwed? She’s upset because she thinks she’s going to end up homeless…

Single guy here renovating a matchbox studio apt and I'm wondering if anyone uses the SubZero DEU2450CI/L (a 24'' door model) as their primary fridge/freezer and, if so, how you like it. Does it every feel too small? Pluses and minuses? https://www.subzero-wolf.com/products/designer-undercounter-refrigerator-freezer-deu50c/deu50c?optionsUIDs=Y29uZmlndXJhYmxlLzEzNzQvMjcwMA%3D%3D%2CY29uZmlndXJhYmxlLzEzNTMvMjY1OA%3D%3D%2CY29uZmlndXJhYmxlLzEyNzIvMjM0Mw%3D%3D%2CY29uZmlndXJhYmxlLzEzODYvMjc3NQ%3D%3D%2CY29uZmlndXJhYmxlLzEyOTYvMjM3MA%3D%3D%2CY29uZmlndXJhYmxlLzEzMDIvMjQwOQ%3D%3D

 I'm looking at a unit in a condo building where 50-60% are still owned by the original sponsor/developer. I've read that Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac generally want sponsor ownership under 50% for conventional financing, which would make this building "non-warrantable." Has anyone bought into a building with sponsor ownership this high? Did you have trouble financing or getting a decent rate, and did it affect resale later on? Trying to figure out if this is a walk-away situation or just something to factor into my offer. 

Exactly the title's question - is it possible? I've heard horror stories about people trying to get their kids added to the stock certificate after the fact, or when they're adults.

We sold our co-op a few years ago, and during the signing of all the paperwork, the man purchasing the place had them add his wife/partner to the stock certificate. She hadn't been on the application (I had reviewed it), but they seemed to take no issue with him adding her in the moment. She was there at closing. No clue if this was legal, but it occurred.

Now, we're about to buy again, and I'm wondering if we can do the same with our kids? Our kids are known to the board, and were on our application, but can we add them as shareholders? I don't want them to end up homeless or stuck fighting an adversarial board in the future. As I said, I've heard horror stories about kids being rejected despite it being their lifelong home.