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Thanks for watching

Hi Rick. If you are asking about the master insurance policy for the condo, then yes, the common charges you pay every month should include your portion of the master insurance policy. The coverage limits and policy details depend on the specific building, the insurance company and a lot of factors, so I can't tell you any details about the coverage. The building's financial statements should provide you all the details about the condo's income, expenses, reserves, etc. You can request a copy of the financials from your managing agent and review them. If you need help you can reach out to me anytime.

That's terrible.

@@SargisMosyan I would advise anyone buying a co op also investigate the management company. Get the opinion of other owners on how the building is run. Monitor how many people are moving out. That's a sure sign in my opinion of bad management. The fees are probably going up so much that they cannot afford to live there.

Thank you.

Glad the video was helpful! Feel free to reach out anytime if there is anything I can help you with.

Hi. Thanks for watching the video. I am happy to help. Can you please specify the question? Where exactly you are interested? Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx or Staten Island or maybe even outside of NYC like Westchester or Nassau counties?

@@SargisMosyan Queens preferably. My idea is somewhere small and community feeling, but will become something more like LIC but also not lose it's charm. it's a tall ask.

I see. You have some options, but it all depends on the budget and the monthly carrying costs. Feel free to reach out directly for more detailed information. You can email me at sargis@corenyc.com

Thanks for watching the video. NYC has so many co-ops and I wouldn't categorize co-ops as such. It's just a different type of ownership.

75% of the apartments in New York City are coops, so mathematically that’s a lot of non-retirees living in coops.

Thanks for watching the video. NYC has so many co-ops and I wouldn't categorize co-ops as such. It's just a different type of ownership.

Thanks for watching the video. Sublet in co-ops typically is the equivalent term of renting out a house or a condo apartment. If you own a condo or a single family or multifamily that means you own a real property. You get a deed and title to your property. Co-op owners don't own a real property. They own shares in a corporation, that's why co-op apartment owners are referred as shareholders. Shareholders have proprietary lease with the co-op which allows them to occupy their specific apartment. Because the shareholders lease their units from the co-op, when they are trying to rent out their apartment, now it becomes a sublet. That's why the term sublet is used for co-ops.

@@SargisMosyan thank you

Hi. Generally speaking all renovations must be approved by the co-op. Typically, co-ops don't really have any problems with painting the walls. If the renovation involves changing the floor plan, such as adding a wall, taking down a wall, or anything with plumbing, electric work, co-ops are usually more careful in their approvals. For most co-ops reasonable renovation plans shouldn't be a problem, but it all depends on the building, how the board runs the building, and how strict the rules are.

The issue is most co-op buildings in the NYC area do NOT have large apartment units with space to add an extra room or bathroom. Some owners with extra cash buy their next door neighbor’s apartment and convert both apartments into 1 large apartment. Example: you have a 1 bedroom/ 1 bath unit and your neighbor also has a 1 bedroom/ 1 bath. Combine both apartments and after renovations, you have a 2 bedroom / 2 bath apartment. This will also change your ownership because you will gain additional shares in the co-op and pay a higher monthly maintenance fee.

Hi. Co-ops can most certainly be very competitive to purchase. If the apartment is priced well considering the location, size, condition and the overall market, the sellers can receive multiple offers in a short period of time. Thanks for watching the video.

Thanks for watching

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you. Glad it was helpful

Thank you.

I believe a legal expert or attorney would be better suited to answer that question. Thanks for watching the video.

The law is the name on the shareholder certificate is the ONLY person who can legally sell the co-op. Typically if a married couple is purchasing a co-op together, your attorney will have both names on the shareholder certificate. If you are buying the co-op yourself, the best advice is to pay for an estate lawyer and have a will written out that gives an authorized person the legal right to sell your co-op in the event you die unexpectedly or become incapacitated.

Hi. There isn't any specific timeline suggestion when it comes to buying a co-op for primary residence. Every co-op has its own rules and everyone's situation, financial profile, and goals are different. I am happy to discuss this question for your specific case whenever you are ready. My contact information is in my profile, so feel free to reach out anytime. Thanks for watching the video. I am glad it was helpful.

There is no guideline on length of time to live in a co-op. BUT you need to know with any type of real estate - house, condo, co-op or rental apartment, the guideline is the less time you intend to live there, the better decision is to rent. The longer you live there, the better decision is to buy. In most real estate purchases, it involves a mortgage, property taxes and time to sell. In rentals, you sign a lease and you're free to leave at the end of your lease without the hassle of selling.

@@kathylakowitzthank you!!

Thanks for watching the video. To answer your question, yes, doesn't matter what's the buyer's net worth. Co-ops will not review the board package if there is any missing paperwork. A lot of times, if something is missing, or they have questions they will ask for additional paperwork to clarify the situation but it is also possible that incomplete or incorrect board packages might get rejected right away if the board finds out that the buyer is deliberately trying to hide certain information in their financial profile. There are known cases where certain co-ops even rejected famous people who were trying to buy an apartment in their building. The paperwork for the board package and financial requirements depend on that specific building. Some of them can be strict and require a lot of paperwork. Typically yes, if people are buying a condo or single-family or multifamily property, it is a common practice to buy it under an LLC.

@@SargisMosyan Thanks! Would it be accepted to create a dedicated (escrow) account with a couple year's costs to present, rather than the bulk of private net worth? Imagine the dodgy doorman learning about your full resources...

An escrow account might be needed for a completely different situation. In the situation you are describing, which is assuming the buyer is more than qualified to buy and carry the apartment and doesn't want to show all their bank accounts, when filling out the financial statements, nothing is stopping them from only including the bank accounts they want to show, but this might be extremely risky and everything needs to be prepared very carefully. Because the review of one's financial profile includes their tax returns, bank statements, investment portfolio, retirement accounts, paystubs, any K1 statements, corporate tax returns (if applicable), any other real estate owned, etc. So if the buyer is a high net worth person, a business owner or an executive with an extremely high salary, showing only enough cash available for a home purchase and that's it, might raise a red flag and some questions. "Cash in banks" is only a part of someone's net worth and if the board package requirements are to show all your assets and liabilities, just hiding a few bank accounts probably wouldn't make any difference. But if buyers try to hide other stuff such as other real estate owned, or businesses they are operate or libailities such as loans, car payments, etc, this might result in rejection. Every situation is different and every building is different so I am happy to discuss your specific situation if you are considering buying a home in NYC. You can reach out to me anytime.

Thank you. I am glad the video was helpful

It's not that they don't like loans, it's just to make sure the buyers are qualified to buy and carry the apartment. The most common down payment requirement for co-ops across the city is 20%, but there are some co-ops that allow only 10% down payment. So if the building allows 10% down payment and the buyer's DTI and post closing liquidity are within the building's requirements, there shouldn't be any problem for someone to put only 10% down payment (assuming the board doesn't see any other reason for rejection). Some co-ops might even require as high as 40-60% down payments and a lot of post-closing liquidity.

@@SargisMosyan Well I still appreciate they make their own rules rather than following what the most eager bank accepts while having zero risk themselves 😂

Thanks for watching the video. It is true that maybe there are co-ops in the city that might be very easy-going and have a simple board package where they want to see just enough to make sure the buyer can afford the place, however, for the most part co-ops want to see the buyers' complete financial profiles, including all the debts from a simple credit card balance all the way to other existing loans and mortgages, also verification of income, all assets and liabilities with substantiating documents, reference letters, tax returns, and if the buyer owns a business, they usually ask for all appropriate business paperwork as well including corporate tax returns.

@keithwisdom1663 - The reason co-ops want to review your finances is to make sure you will pay the monthly maintenance fee on time. Example - if you lose your job, have an accident, etc., the co-op Board still expects you to pay the monthly maintenance fee on time every month.

Thanks for watching. Pet policy varies a lot from building to building. I have a video talking about down payments in general for condos, co-ops and townhouses, but I'll make one dedicated for co-ops only. th-cam.com/video/H22GntECwrw/w-d-xo.html

ALL co-op videos on TH-cam are specific to Manhattan and some to the rest of NYC - which requires VERY high down payments of 25% and up. You need to look at the suburbs. Most co-ops in the suburbs only require a 10% down payment. The rest (a small number) require 20%. As for pets, many co-ops have a NO PET policy.

I am not sure I understand the question. What kind of rental and what kind of house we are discussing? Why would a rental apartment's cost be as much as a down payment of a house? Can you clarify the question?

Renting in NYC is almost the same as paying a mortgage

Well it depends, but because the transaction cost is pretty high in NYC, for a lot of people renting makes more sense. When it comes to buying, the monthly mortgage payments aren't the only affordability factor. People also need to budget for a down payment, closing costs, real estate taxes, maintenance and repairs.

There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into careful consideration besides just a purchase price when looking for an investment property, especially when it comes to co-ops. Some of the important factors are sublet policy, sublet fees, minimum down payment, purchase requirements, resale value, and so on. Every co-op has its own requirements so every building needs to be reviewed individually to determine whether or not it can be a good investment. Thanks for watching.

​@@SargisMosyanalso percentage of ownership apartments vs vacant va rentals. 85 percentage of owner occupied is great don't want a building full of tenants or low ownership occupancy

@scottlouis6116 - In NYC, 3 reasons why a co-op's price is cheap: 1) Research the neighborhood - visit the local police station and get information on crime. The neighborhood could be dangerous or has safety issues. 2) The co-op Board does NOT maintain the building and the building looks bad. 3) The apartment itself needs repairs.

Generally, the question of whether to buy a co-op apartment with cash or finance has two parts. The 1st part of this question is no different when considering buying any home or any other asset all cash. It all comes down to your specific situation, your long-term goals, how much the cost of borrowing is (interest rates), and what is the opportunity cost of your money if you tie up to that property vs using it somewhere else. if someone decides to buy a co-op apartment all cash, they don't have to go through a mortgage application step, the process generally can be a lot faster, and the only housing expenses they'll have are just the monthly maintenance of the apartment and the homeowner's insurance. They won't pay any interest to a lender and will enjoy a mortgage-free life. But that means they'll tie up a lot of money into that home that could've been used elsewhere else to get a better return on the investment. This can be anything from starting a business, which can have the potential of growing and making a lot more money compared to the interest payments on the mortgage that they have to pay to things like investing in a stock market and anything else you can think of people can do with their money which involves different risk-vs-reward factor. So there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Everyone's situation and long-term goals are different. The second part of this question specific to co-ops is the source of the money. Just because someone has a lot of cash sitting in their bank account, doesn't mean that every co-op will allow them to purchase. If that money belongs to the individual, who has a stable source of income and has saved the money on their own and wants to purchase a home, it shouldn't be a problem but the co-op will still make sure that they qualify to carry the apartment. The risk of rejection is always there. But if that money is a gift, they need to make sure that the co-op they are trying to buy allows gifts or parents buying or whatever else their purchase structure is. If they don't meet the co-op's purchase structure and financial requirements, they will most likely be rejected even if it's an all-cash purchase. Hope I was able to answer your question. Thanks for watching the video.

This was rented almost a year ago. The time for lease renewal is approaching through so it might become available again. You can email me at sargis@corenyc.com if you want to receive updates on this apartment or need any help with something else.

I am not familiar with VA loan program details. I know the advantage of a VA loan is the ability to buy a home with no down payment, but there are requirements to determine one's eligibility. My market is the Manhattan market where the majority of the housing stocks are co-ops. Co-ops have their own requirements and it doesn't matter what kind of loan program an individual qualifies for. They still need to satisfy that specific co-op's financial requirements, in order to buy in the building. Most co-ops would want to see at least 20% down payment. Some of them require as high as 40-60% down payments. I know some co-ops that allow 10% down payment, but I haven't seen anything lower than that. Besides the down payment, they usually want to see low DTI and sufficient post-closing liquid assets. Some condos can have a min down payment requirement, which if they do most of the time it's 10%, but I don't know what VA program requirements are when it comes to condos. I would imagine in other boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island) people would be able to buy single-family or multi-family residences using VA loans, but since I don't work in other boroughs and I haven't closed any VA loans and I am not familiar with VA loan eligibility details, I can't really give a definite answer. Thanks for watching the video.

Nevermind, I just finished your video, you explain it all lol

Congrats on having an accepted offer!!! I am glad the video was helpful.

There are 3 large windows in the living room and one in each bedroom providing unobstructed views. So to answer your question, yes the apartment gets ample natural light. Thanks for watching.

Thanks for watching

Thanks for watching

Thanks for watching

If you can get on with low maintenance like under 400 is good and make sure they have a history of low increases... Also most of it may be property taxes which is deductible... Check for foreclosures or seller with issues looking to just get rid of property.... I got mine in 1990s for 59k. 15 yr mortgage and very low maintenance.. key is location price .... And quality of building the apt is in. 😊 Don't go by size. It's cheaper than a house to maintain.... house you have to pay for maintenance and equipment and lawn and roof and water heater and whatever goes wrong higher utilities and you probably will have more space that you will fill with more stuff😊😅😅😅

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts about this topic. That's one of the main differences between owning a condo/coop vs a house, where the owner is responsible for everything. There is no one to share the cost of the maintenance and repair.

Hi. Thanks for the question. It depends. There are real estate agent who primarily focus on sales and there are agents who focus on rentals only. But it's perfectly fine if an agent does both rentals and sales. I work with sellers, buyers, landlords and tenants, so basically I specialize in all residential real estate transactions. When choosing an agent to work with, hypothetically speaking an agent who does only sales transactions isn't automatically better vs an agent who does both sales and rentals. There are some key factors that you want to look for in your agent before committing to working with someone. I actually made a video on how to hire an agent and what qualities to look for in your agent. Here is the link. Feel free to watch this video as well. th-cam.com/video/fCX0m1tzzgs/w-d-xo.html

@@SargisMosyan I really appreciate the response; even though I grew up in the area, I haven't lived there as an adult and the NYC RE market is so different than most other places.

For co-ops yes, the maintenance payment for each apartment includes their portion of real estate taxes. Co-op ownership is structured the way that the entire building gets one tax bill. Individual apartment owners don't own a real property, but instead they own shares that are allocated to their apartment. So every shareholder's portion of the property tax bill is calculated according to the number of shares they own in the corporation and is included in their maintenance bill. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching.

@@SargisMosyan it does help, is the tax deductible as it would be for a condo or a home?

@joez3706 Generally speaking co-op apartment owners get pretty much the same tax treatment as other homeowners, but everyone's tax situation is unique. There are some general rules, but it's always a good idea to consult with a tax professional or accountant who is familiar with co-op related tax issues to get guidance tailored to your specific circumstances. Also, just note that some special rules apply for co-ops and that specific cooperative housing corporation itself also has to meet certain conditions. So when it comes to personal income taxes and deductibility of certain items, I recommend consulting with an accountant.

@@SargisMosyan thanks much 👍

Thanks for watching

​@@SargisMosyanCan you only rent a co op?

@@mstwelvedeadlycyns If you mean rent an apartment in a co-op building, yes,.There are apartments available for rent in co-op buildings.

Hi. When it comes to buying a co-op apartment, most buildings in the city require a 20% down payment. However, each co-op has its own minimum down payment, which can range from 25% to 45% or even more. Some co-ops do allow a down payment of 10%, which is the lowest I have seen so far. I don't know any co-op that will allow less than 10% down payment. Hope this was helpful. Thanks for watching.

@@SargisMosyan yes this was very helpful. Thank you.

@@StephanieFulcher- Outside of Manhattan, many co-ops only require 20% down payments. In the nearby suburbs, most co-ops only require 10% downpayment.

Thanks for watching

Yes. Thanks for watching.

Hi. I am glad the video was helpful. I've been a full-time real estate agent for just over 3 years now. The information in this video that describes the cooperative ownership structure apply to co-ops in general, not just NYC. There are co-ops in other states as well, but New York City is known for having a high number of co-operative housing buildings. In fact, co-ops make up a significant percentage of the city's housing stock. Every building's requirement is different and there are many co-ops in NYC that have pretty strict financial requirements. NYC I mean all 5 boroughs, but my service areas are Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Thanks for watching.

Thanks for watching. I am glad it was helpful.

The building has a laundry room located in the basement. Thanks for watching.