The Co-Op Board Interview

As someone who was on her co-op's board for two years, I can assure you this SNL skit isn't too far from the truth.

At Least I Still Have My Health

In light of the recent unpleasantness with the Murray Hill co-op board, I was reminded of a song Bette Midler sings in the movie Beaches. It's a little jazz ditty called, "I've Still Got My Health."

When one is faced with the absence of logic, and co-op boards aren't known for being logical, just difficult, I like to blare this on my iPod.

Welcome To My Doorman/Elevator...Tenement

Guess what? TR and I got screwed by his co-op board! (Only in New York...)

Now that I've stopped sobbing, I can tell the tale: Last week, on a whim, I called the management company to see the status of our inquiry to sublet out TR's alcove studio since we are having a baby in June. I asked to sublet as of June 1 for up to three years, but I secretly would have taken any day that they gave me.

We got a date all right: Spring/Summer 2010.

It seems that his co-op only allows 15 shareholders at any given time to sublet, and we are on a waiting list with 10 other people. Three of those people are also families who are expecting children.

I asked the woman on the phone if she realized that TR's place is a studio, and that it is likely against some fire code to have two adults and an infant living in essentially 520 square feet, including closet space. (Someone please tell me this is true, and back it up with documents.) She said, "Not to be rude, but you're not the only people in the building who are having a baby." True, but we are likely the only ones in a studio.

You know the old joke about a baby sleeping in a drawer? This might actually be the case for my little bean.

True, it's one heck of a view from the 21st floor, but the board is a little out of touch with the current economic climate or the fact that sometimes rules have to be adjusted in order to keep shareholders happy. Then again, maybe the board doesn't realize their building is on Second Avenue, not Park Avenue.

Other flaws with his board and building (since you asked):

1. They charge for common storage. Even in my rental building, which is also doorman/elevator, and, arguably, nicer, storage is free. Why do people pay to store things in a building that they're already paying maintenance to?

2. Parents cannot buy units for children unless the child is employed and can pay mortgage and maintenance on their own. Granted, if they could do that, they wouldn't need their parents helping them out, would they? (And the board wonders why not one of the six studios on the market have moved in over six months, nor has the two bedroom on the first floor.)

3. At least one doorman is known for hooking up with female resident(s). Klassy!

Again, not the kind policies I would expect east of Lexington Avenue.

Please send booze. Preferably a 2005 Bordeaux, Grand Cru or Premier Grand Cru. Since we're being charged for common storage, I'm turning our slice into a wine cellar/panic room.

ABC News Misses The Boat On NYC Real Estate Story

As someone with a journalism background, I get very frustrated when I see pieces such as the one that 20/20 did today about the so-called decline in the New York City housing market. It was sloppy and inaccurate, and clearly put together by someone who doesn't understand the market. Even the woman from Brown, Harris, Stevens who made the outlandish claims that the New York City real estate market who going down has been slightly alienated by her company. Way to find good sources, kids.

I work in real estate everyday, and I can say with certainty that if there was ever a time of opportunity in New York City real estate, this is it. Housing prices have come down, as have interest rates. If you have good credit and good savings, you might find yourself in a favorable position to buy. Yes, you may have to put 20% down, but it would mean less to finance and pay off in the long run. And no one likes debt, right? (Certainly not the federal government, apparently.)

Of the many misleading parts of the ABC News piece, it focused on very high end apartments, and mostly co-ops.

Your typical New York City apartment does not cost anywhere near $50 million dollars. This piece would have you think you would need a king's ransom to own a home in Manhattan. In the past year there have been two developments that sent the average apartment price in Manhattan over the top: 15 Central Park West and The Plaza. Those are the $50 million palaces they were alluding to, and they are few and far between. If you have $500,000, you can find something in Manhattan. Heck, you can even find something for $350,000 is you wanted to. It would be a studio, but it would be yours.

Co-ops are notoriously tough, because the co-op board has to consider the health of the corporation, the building that you're buying into, when they screen applicants. It is, in fact, the co-op system in New York City that saved the city from much of the foreclosure mess the rest of the country is experiencing, because co-ops have stringent financial requirements, beginning with but not limited to your debt to income ratio (it should be under 30%, if not 25%) personal savings and assets as well as how you plan to finance your apartment. If you can't afford the place, they won't let you in. Good for them for being so responsible.

What you do for a living isn't as much of an issue as how your financials are. True, I had a listing agent rumble this week about a rental applicant's guarantor who worked in financial services, but by and large being in banking isn't going to be a liability. One would hope that someone who works in banking would know how to manage their salaries and bonuses so that they would be solid in case of an emergency.

The larger issue is why ABC News was using someone, Holly Peterson, who wrote a very bad chick lit book about being a socialite as an authority on real estate finance.

Till next time.