When buying a coop, what should I be asking the realtor?

Question

I would like to be prepared and better informed on the realestate business. So I would like to know what to ask a realtor and attorney regaring buying a coop or condo.

Answer 1

The most imprortant thing to know about is restrictions. Some co-ops don't allow pets, small children and renting out YOUR unit to tenants. You said you wanted to learn about Real Estate. I seriously doubt that co-op is Real Estate. It's more like a personal property, since you don't own the land or the unit. Focus on restrictions. Stay away from co-ops if you can. They are hard to finance and simply not worth all the trouble.

Answer 2

Possibly you are thinking of a P.U.D. (Planned unit developement)?
These are the ways condos, townhomes and PUD's affect you versus regular single family residences(SFR's).
There is typically a homeowners association-read: extra monthly bill
There are going to be some limits to your property rights.
You will share a common wall or two in some cases
Financing is going to be somewhat more expensive (+.25% or so)

Ask what the cc and r's of the HOA are, ask what the limitations on your property rights are, find out the terms of your financing. Otherwise it's the same as buying any regular home; you should not need an attorney to my knowledge.

Answer 3

i'm a Realtor. and that i do not imagine that is straightforward to take 6% out of the promote. I do imagine that is straightforward to furnish 3% to the agent who brings the customer although. The itemizing agent I agree would not do a lot extra then you extremely ought to except gown up and seem profesional. some issues they do which will nicely be important although is positioned your position on your community mls. this facilitates all different brokers, and public, to work out that your sources is for promote. you may basically do this in case you belong for your community asociation. in case you positioned your position interior the newspaper regular for the length that is presented that's going to fee you, nicely a lot of money. Oh in addition they make confident you're secure antagonistic to criminal movements. Over seem contracts and what not. in addition they evaluate the cost of your position so that you'll get the most money from the promote. To severe no one buys, to low you lose money. you may't walk down your street and seem how a lot some different person is promoting their residing house for and value yours the same. nicely until eventually each little thing is the very similar.... 3 hundred and sixty 5 days outfitted, condition, paint, landscaping, residing house equipment, and far extra. So with that 2% for the itemizing agent is straightforward to me. Or a collection cost no count number how a lot you promote your position for. that's all nogotible between you and your agent. yet you may continually do a "for promote with the help of proprietor", making confident that that is an as is promote so that you at the on the spot are to not blame later. this suggests the customer is to blame for doing all the inspections beforehand signing some thing. save in options you get what you pay for. So in case you promote your position with the help of your self. good success to you. basically save in options you received't have the help of brokers bringing human beings to coach your position. In todays promote it facilitates plenty. in case you'll come across brokers prepared to take a lot less then 3% that's good. it actual relies upon on what you want them to do for you. caution: paying 3% does not recommend you get 3% of work out of your agent. in case you employ an agent do your homework. possibly ask for a number of there previous consumers and communicate with them. And the remark about the hamburger flipper....are you kidding me. If it kind of feels really person-friendly bypass and get a actual sources license and tell me whats less difficult, your pastime or mine.

Answer 4

don't think they handle co-op housing.. i think that is a rental agent on site..or they run their own ads..
co-op is a large downpayment on something that in the end..you never own..(similar to time - share vacation as a comparison)
a condo..you own a title..and ..if the building was destroyed you have a piece of that condo title..
you pay a maintence fee but have something you can sell later..
your maintence usually includes cleaning,garbage,water, parking,etc..
you have rules (condo by-laws)
good luck and enjoy
realtor will first off find out how much you can afford..
and then see if something is available where you want to live or nearby..
good luck

Answer 5

you need to ask if the coop has voting right on tenants.
Also, how much are the fees.
Also, what are the percentages of owner who are late on their payments. If people are late, the coop has to pay on money.

Answer 6

I'd go for the condo, unless you're a chicken.

Answer 7

don't think that you are "chicken" if you decide not to purchase a condo! do you know that in large cities, especially in chicago, living in a cooperative apartment building along the lake is considered quite, quite exclusive, and you are given more esteem when you do? condos are considered by those that are wealthy enough in chicago's gold coast cooperatives as rather "common," not on the up and up... in NYC, practically every highrise that is around central park is a coop, not a condo building.

here are the differences between a condo and a coop:

CONDO: you purchase real estate, but it consists of only the air space that is contained within your unit as well as a portion of the common areas of the entire piece/parcel.

therefore, instead of buying homeowner's insurance (unless you purchase it for the contents of your air space), you pay "common insurance" for insuring the building in total via means of part of your monthly assessment. that assessment also generally pays for repairs (might pay for major repair and might not, meaning if you need a whole new roof, you may be charged a "special assessment" based on your share of the roof), upkeep and maintenance of your share of the common elements of the real estate, such as grass, hallways, elevators, swimming pool, deck, common lighting, water and sewer, scavenger, etc.

your assessments are never tax deductible, as are real estate taxes, which you pay for too. as in both your single family dwelling that you live in and own, as well as for a second house, you can deduct all of the interest charged on your mortgage as well as your real estate taxes from your federal income taxes each year.

in purchasing one condo vs. another one, ask your agent/licensee/REALTOR:

what your monthly assessments will be and what they pay for;

why one building charges higher assessements for the same floor space/unit than another one does (usually reflects liability insurance on such dangerous things as swimming pools, exercise rooms and/or union wages for doormen, janitors and salaries of on-site managers...);

what "reserve" does the condo building have for repair/replacement of expensive items like windows, elevators, sidewalks, roofs, plumbing in common (only) walls, etc.

what happens if all condo owners of a building are charged a "special assessment" for such repairs/replacements. how do they pay it?

ask for a set of last year's, this year's, and maybe even one older set of the rules and regulations of the board. i.e., let's say that your parents smoke cigarettes and come to visit 4 times a year. when they come, they stay with you. if the board has ruled, or there is talk of a future rule, against smoking, then you should look for a condo building that allows smoking. same thing goes for your dogs, cats, birds, iguana, etc.

KNOW THAT IF YOUR TOILET LEAKS AND RUINS YOUR FLOORS, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE TO FIX ALL OF IT, SINCE IT IS INSIDE OF YOUR AIR SPACE AND NOT PART OF THE COMMON ELEMENTS!

you will also ask your agent for most of the above in purchasing a cooperative apartment.

COOP:

you buy the proprietary lease to your unit. that means that you go through an extensive approval process. it also means, almost always, that the cooperative will not be very much on your side if you wish to rent out your unit! that's because they want everyone that lives there to be pleased with their neighbors. wouldn't you want that? would you want the person who owns the unit next to you to rent out to drug dealers or a prostitute?

the other thing that you purchase in a coop are "shares," of a corporation. the building, the cooperative, is a corporation itself.

shares are considered as personal property, not as real property, so:

it used to be very difficult if not impossible to borrow the cost to buy these shares from a bank (like borrowing for a mortgage on a condo). it is not hard now.

since real estate taxes are assessed on the corporation, the building, and you only own shares of the corporation, you will not be able to deduct your cost of the real estate taxes from your income taxes.

as to your assessment: it generally pays for far more than does the assessment of a condo, so it costs more. ask what that assessment pays for and how that cost is determined.

i don't know whether you can deduct any interest that you pay the bank for the loan to buy your shares.

in either case: ask what would happen if you wished to put in, for example, hothouse windows? i'll bet you could not, since unless they are there already, they would not look consistent with the windows of all the other units.

(as for a single family house, though: if you wanted to put such a window (it extends outwards from your exterior walls), you could have an issue with your next-door neighbor depending on where the window would go. if it goes onto his lot line, he may say that he opposes it because then it infringes on his land. it might impede him from building onto his land...)

another question regarding cooperative assessments: who pays for that leaky toilet and ruined hardwood floor repair? you or the association? and ask why.

IN ALL CASES REGARDING TAXES, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR TAX LAWYER, ACCOUNTANT, OR PREPARER!!! uncle sam giveth and uncle sam taketh away. i.e., the tax picture is constantly changing.

your REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY (not general practioner, please) will review the by laws, budgets, rules and regulations, and declaration of condominium, so those should all go in the package to her when you give her your contract. the listing agent should have gotten them when taking the listing! also know that real estate attorneys get paid to fight with each other. isn't that what attorneys generally do anyways? so then, the seller's attorney and your attorney do not negotiate your price and/or the dates, but adjust wording of your contract and guide you through closing.

EDIT: !!! NO, IT IS NOT TRUE THAT YOU CANNOT SELL THE COOP LATER! PEOPLE BUY COOPS ALL THE TIME. IF THE BUILDING BURNS DOWN, I AM SURE THAT THE CORPORATION MUST COMPENSATE YOU FOR LOST SHARES AND YOUR PROPRIETARY LEASE TO LIVE THERE. ASK ABOUT THAT ONE. ASK BOTH THE AGENT AND YOUR LAWYER !!!

as for me, i am considering purchasing a rental parcel. many buildings in the area have gone condo. if i decided not to hold it as a rental (because i personally think that too many rentals have been converted for the market as it is now and in the future), the only thing i would do is to make it into coops! i personally would love the security afforded by a coop over and above that of a condo!