R.E Advice/ Q&A

I have never bought or lived in a CO-OP, so I would find an real estate agent or a real estate attorney to help navigate the ins and outs of the CO-OP.

Cannot tell you how beneficial an inspection is. One inspection we had kept us from buying a nightmare house here in Georgia.

A Contingency is just what people have told you, places a stipulation on the sale to go through. Whether it is a house inspection, sale of another property, rental of another property, etc.

Sounds like you would be upgrading! I would do it!!

ETA: Sorry I didn't answer all of your questions.

1. Contingent sale - it is contingent upon several things or one thing - you being able to rent your place or selling your place or even getting the mortgage approved...

2. Terms - this is why I said you need to hire a real estate lawyer to cover all your bases.

3. To cut down on contingencies?? Make sure you are approved for a loan before you go to the table with an offer.

4. Doing it with out a real estate agent cuts out fees - which are typically 5% of the sale price - so people usually lower the price to take that into consideration.

I would contact a mortgage lender to verify you can afford the new mortgage.

I would obtain a real estate lawyer to ensure everything is done right.

I would contact a certified appraisal person as well as home inspection...you don't want to buy a place that has things you are going to have to fix...right?

Why not rent your place out? If you can't do that - then get yours ready for the market and have the appraiser do your place as well as theirs..

Good luck!!

Also - people might not know that abbreviation - EIK - Eat In Kitchen...

I am not sure how the Coop would work---anything involved with the management company. But, a friend sold her home FSBO. The person had a realtor and she allowed $2000 at closing to be paid to that person's realtor. When you buy FSBO, if you use a realtor, you have to pay the realtor yourself. She also allowed a contingency on inspection and loan approval for a limited time--I think she said 3 weeks. It all depends on whether they are open to it and what their own limits are. You can do your own research to see what other apartments in your area are selling for to make sure you make a competitive bid. But you definitely want an inspection and a r/e attorney. The attorney can make sure all the paperwork is completed properly.

A contingency sale means your purchase of their home is contingent upon you selling your home. That is something that protects you, but gives them less flexibility. New York has some different rules about resales that I am not familiar with so I would definitely ask lots of questions. Is your current home "grandfathered" in to anything? What tax advantages will you lose by moving and starting over in a new residence? I think I would ask the management company about what I might encounter. You might also ask the board to see what would be required in these circumstances. Separately, I would contact a mortgage broker to determine what you would be eligible for in a mortgage, the rate and the amount of downpayment required. I would also try to get my unit appraised so I have a realistic idea of what it would sell for. I would check to see what other units in the building have sold for within the past year. Is the $15K (more than you paid for your unit 5 years ago) they are asking realistic? A FSBO (for sale by owner) eliminates their need to pay a real estate commission on the sale. Are they sharing that cost savings with you or offering to pay any of your closing costs, or are they the only ones benefitting from the private sale. Good luck!

You can do this without a realtor but you will need a lawyer. I would first decide if you like the unit and then see about a loan. I am guessing you will need to sell your current unit so you have to factor that in as well.

I would highly recommend having a realtor to help with these sales if that's what you choose. I am also not sure of the laws in NY, so you will need to find those out as well.

Before closing the door on needing to sell yours, do you use a credit union? i ask because hubby and I plan on buying before we sell. We'll do a 2 year ARM, with 5% down, no PMI. Then, when we sell, we'll refi into a 15 or 20 fixed. This way we don't have "the contingency on sale" getting in our way and we can actually afford the two payments. We actually almost bought a house and we won out over another couple because we put in a noncontingent offer.

before closing that door, talk to a good mortgage guy and figure out what you can really do. I had no idea how easy it was to buy a second home., if you have assets (which I assume you do because you're frugal and hardworking), you'll be surprised by what they will allow and what you can do with a cheap ARM. When you sell, you then refi into a 20 or 30 fixed. It's something to seriously think about.

If I was you, I'd talk to the woman ASAP. I'd then find a credit union and get approved to buy noncontingent. I'd then find a lawyer (but I think you are one, so you probably can skip that since you get the whole devils in the details thing). But really, tell her and find a mortgage guy. But mostly, talk to her, go see it, and see if it's a fit. Then go from there. You may hate it. I've seen lots of homes that sound amazing, but really, they are terrible. Bigger isn't always better. Go feel the floor plan. I have a good friend in a studio in Vancouver that had a chance to move into a 1 bedroom. She realized her great california closet additions, etc. made the bigger place look pathetic.

GOOD LUCK.

I'd talk to her and ask her if it would be possible to try and buy it from them when the time comes. That you'd need to sell yours but would they be comfortable with that.

We bought a FSBO house. We didn't see the need to hire our own attorney therefore we let the sellers attorney draw up the paper work because it was completely standard. (We still had a home inspection though).

I would hire a real estate attorney to navigate this.