Coop Board “Contemplating” a 2.5% Transfer Fee?!

[Darren Chang]

Hi, as a shareholder I just got a survey from the coop boarding saying they are “contemplating” a Transfer Fee of 2.5%. This comes to me as a complete shock. This means if I sell my unit for 400k, I need to give 10,000 bucks to the building. This appears to be absurd, especially given the two facts that

1) At the shareholders’ meeting in December, it is said the building’s financial health is in good shape.

2) The maintenance fee has been consistently increasing for the past 5 years for a total of more than 20%.

I decide to protest against this transfer fee, even rallying the other shareholders. My questions are:

- Is this kind of transfer fee typical of NYC coop buildings?

- Is there legal basis to resist such a fee? I can involve an attorney if needed.

Thanks,

Darren