All Forum Posts by: Jason Lee

It's fairly common... I'd guess close to half the co-op deals I've done have had a flip/transfer fee. Some boards specify whether it should come from the seller or buyer, but that's often negotiated. It's sometimes based on the sales price and in others on the profit from the original purchase price. I wouldn't link it to the health of the co-op. If there aren't that many sales in your building then it's just gravy, kind of like storage or laundry room income, etc. 4% maintenance increase per year isn't great, but it's not horrible either. Ideally you'd want it linked closer to inflation but it all depends on the reasons. I'd skip the attorney... you'd be shooting yourself in the foot. A good way to cause maintenance to go up is lawsuits and attorney's fees. Try to organize your neighbors, the younger ones that live in smaller units that are more likely to sell in the next few years, and attend the next shareholder's meeting and be vocal. Better yet, run for the board.

Banks are typically much more liberal than co-op boards as far as what they will allow for debt-to-income. Banks will go close to 45% while most co-ops are looking for under 30%. The co-op will take into account the rental income but also the liabilities, they also don't want to see any unusual mortgage products. If the bank is saying 150k most co-ops will probably think even less. Can she co-purchase with someone?

If your property isn't listed with a REBNY member firm and it's not on the REBNY RLS (the Board and MLS that covers Manhattan) then your listing will not be seen by the majority of buyer's brokers that work in Manhattan. FYI those 20 other sales are all on the RLS. Choosing a non-REBNY member brokerage that's based deep inside an outer borough is not ideal for a co-op sale in Midtown (I won't even ask how much experience they have with co-op sales). Next, if you're offering less than the typically expected broker commission, especially at this low price point, you can expect buyer's brokers will not be as motivated to show your property to their clients. I get that you're trying to net more from your sale but in this market and in particular in your building where inventory is very high it would be in your interest to incentivize brokers, not the opposite. There are developers now that are actually increasing commissions for buyers brokers because the market is the way it is. Lastly, how about decluttering (yes even with a tenant in place), and taking professional photography, or virtually staging, or at the very least opening the blinds and photographing during the day. The presentation strikes me as very lazy and it's not helping you. You're competing with over a dozen other studios in your own building... you need to show as best in class and price.

On the bright side, January has seen a very unexpected uptick in entry level buyers. Hopefully you can capitalize on that.

Need a referral for someone in RI / South County / Narragansett to find source of leak and repair. Have already gone through some bad apples and so looking for a strong recommendation who is reliable and honest.

Didn't West New York pass an ordinance last year banning STR? If I recall correctly you can only do it if the host is present in the unit.

We are at or approaching a peak/plateau in this cycle. YOY appreciation has slowed dramatically in Hudson and Bergen Counties and in some segments prices have gone down. Having said that, if you're looking near the city, with good transportation, have a long time horizon, and would otherwise be renting, then I'd say it's somewhat futile to try to time the market. Over the long run, both prices and rents will appreciate.

A major factor if you're considering house hacking is what you can stomach in terms of renovations. Some of my clients want to gut renovate. They have the time, patience, experience, and desire to purchase a wreck. Others have no interest or time and prefer turn key. Then there's the whole spectrum in between. There's a premium for turn key but there are also other costs (emotional, time, tuition) to having to do work on a home.

The are co-ops that allow investors, foreigners, and sublets from day 1 but there's no public source to filter. Many of these are non-warrantable, meaning the percentage of investors is high and you can not get conventional financing (though you can find portfolio lenders). There are others that call themselves "condops" which are co-ops run with condo rules (no board approval, open subletting, etc).

This doesn't sound right. You can verify the tax bill on the NYC.gov site. Are you sure it's a condo? Some aggregator sites don't differentiate between condos and co-ops so you could be looking at a co-op with an unusually high maintenance. If you DM me I can look into it for you.

Reminded me of this great story:

https://patch.com/new-york/carrollgardens/former-cop-worth-400m-after-brooklyn-real-estate-investments

De-regulation happens differently in condos then it does in rental buildings. Once a rent-stabilized tenant moves out or dies the condo unit goes free market... unless they have a family member living with them who ends up protected, then it could end up stabilized indefinitely. You can't try to owner occupy and evict them. This is a numbers game. It usually only works when you're able to buy large blocks of sponsor units and flip them when units open up. I'd maybe only ever buy one if it were adjacent to my own unit and it made a good combination. Even then, I'd expect the stabilized tenant would probably outlive me. That's the running joke.