When buying a co-op, many people are concerned with paying a fair price and then turn their anxiety towards passing the board’s rigorous financial and personal interview tests. Under these circumstances, they can turn your selling process into a long, drawn-out affair that risks limiting potential buyers and making your co-op illiquid. However, it would help if you gave equal weight to whether a board’s stiff tests overly restrict buyers, especially when you want to sell.
We intend to clarify the sales process to understand better why a board can turn down a buyer.
Why can a buyer not get turned awayWhy can a buyer not get turned away
It is easier to start with why a co-op board cannot reject a buyer since it is a shorter list. For example, a board cannot turn you down by race, color, creed, age, national origin, citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and marital/family status.
For instance, if you have kids, the board cannot reject your application solely. However, that makes everything else fair game.
Typical reasons for rejectionTypical reasons for rejection
Buyers not having strong enough financials are a top reason boards reject applicants. This includes erratic employment history and insufficient post-closing liquidity reserves. Typically, boards seek one to two years of mortgage and maintenance payments.
The board can also decide that your price is not adequate. The co-op board wants to keep comps as high as possible since the members are also unitholders, and it is in their best financial interests to do so. Some sellers are providing various credits at the board’s urging at closing to keep comps artificially high.
Boards typically like full-time residents. Therefore, if you plan on using your apartment as a Pied-à-Terre, you will likely have a more challenging time passing muster.
Co-op boards reject applicants based on lifestyle concerns, a poorly constructed board package, and a lousy board interview. For instance, if the co-op board hears you are planning extensive renovations, they could reject you. Based on brokers’ and lawyers’ estimates, 3%-5% of applicants do not receive board approval. Even more frustrating, co-op boards are not required to explain their rejection.
You can mitigate your risk by reviewing the purchase application with your exclusive buyer’s agent to understand the board’s requirements. You are typically asked to submit a Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) Financial Disclosure Statement with your offer. This provides the seller with your income, expenses, assets, and debt. If the seller accepts your offer, you know you pass muster with them and the listing agent.
When it’s time to sellWhen it’s time to sell
Restricting buyers can backfire when you are ready to sell your unit. While maintaining prices and ensuring strong liquidity seeks to protect the owners’ financial interests, being too picky can overly restrict the buyer pool. Naturally, this hurts your co-op’s liquidity and can cause your unit to remain on the market longer than you would like.
Therefore, you want to determine the board’s policies ahead of time, even before submitting your offer. While financial requirements are typical, you want to find out how strict the board has been in the past. Boards are not necessarily forthcoming with this information, but your agent should have some insight.