Just a quick question? Is there a special reason NYC? Friends? medical? theaters? On Condos watch out for Homeowners Associations--they can be a challenge if you don't know what you are getting into. They can tell you what to paint, when, and even what color--or??
I don't understand the co-ops either, but make sure their lawyer, or a RE lawyer checks everything out.

I'm not sure I'll be much help--we've only made one and a half purchases, and they were both FSBO. And they were both small co-ops.

But here's what we did:

Submitted a verbal bid. Negotiated verbally to a price.

There was no "binder," though I've heard that there is sometimes, w/ a small deposit, but apparently it's not really binding.

Called our lawyers, exchanged info; their lawyer sent ours a contract.

Realized the contract says "we've already seen the co-op paperwork, and inspected the building." (this was a form contract for a co-op purchase, so this is standard operating procedure to do

Asked to see all co-op paperwork, and arranged an inspection.

Called about the dishwasher being excluded from the contract in the fill-in; i honestly don't think they wanted to keep it, bcs it was NOT new, and they were already living in their new place, I think it was an oversight; got a different contract.

Signed contract.

Got financing.

Submitted info to co-op board.

Interviewed w/ co-op board after EVERY contingency had been met .

Condos don't usually have painting restrictions, bcs that would be inside the unit. But of course w/ any group sort of thing, you need to know all the rules.

Here's a pretty good link.

Here is a link that might be useful: HOW TO BUY AN APARTMENT IN NYC from citi-habitats.com

We bought a co-op there two years ago as an investment/pied a terre (all the regulars on this forum heard about it in probably too much detail).

First, you have to pick yourself off the floor from sticker shock. :)

Then, the process is much as Talley_Sue outlined. The big difference in NYC from other places is that you are required to use a lawyer at the closing. We also used an agent to find the apartment, so she took care of all the paperwork -- getting us preapproved, submitting offers, and so on. I believe she submitted offers in writing, but I'm not sure. There is no contract until the seller signs, so you can submit an offer, have it accepted, pay a lawyer for due diligence, and then if the seller doesn't send the contract back you still don't have the apartment (this happened to us on our first offer -- the seller was just testing the waters, I guess; it cost us quite a bit of money).

With a co-op, after you have the contract signed by both parties, you have to apply to the co-op and have an interview. This process seems to take about a month but can take longer if the co-op board is not accommodating. Because we were using an experienced agent, all of our paperwork was done and in order, so there weren't any problems with that. In our case, the closing was then a month after the board interview. The board of our co-op (which is small, but the management is handled by a large established company) is very businesslike and there was none of the nonsense you sometimes hear about.

Our first offer that fell through, btw, was for a condo. I thought it was interesting that they required an application and asked for all the same information that the co-op did, including letters of recommendation, although they didn't require an interview. I'm not sure on what basis, though, they could turn a person down, other than lack of financial qualifications.

Hope that helps. There's lots of info on the Web about this.

In NYCÂ..the offer is madeÂ.once accepted a binder is usually put down...THEN the home inspection...then the contract is signed. Kind of odd...as one forks out for an inspection (or, inspections as the case may be) before they even have a signed contract...and until then the house can still get sold out from under them...

I understand that in CT it is the same. Â.someone I know who just bought in CT had additional language built in to their offer that somehow bound the seller more than they ordinarily would be in terms of not being able to sell from under them...this is where an attorney comes in...

Last but not least...it takes a long time from offer to closing in NYCÂÂgenerally at least 3 months...and that is without complications..

The deposit that is put down once everything is signed is usually quite large, 5-10%

You need to carefully review the subletting and renting procedures in the rules. Some would argue that Condos give you more freedom to rent out. In some Co ops, if you as your parent's child lived there without them even for a short period of time that would be considered a sublet which may or may not be in violation

If the current credit crunch continues so that there are fewer financial center deals, you may see a decline (finally!) in the Manhattan market. It has not happened yet and it really will depend on where the financial center economy is going

CT laws on the selling and purchase of real estate are strict. Once you have an offer accepted, the seller/ realtor cannot take another offer with the first party being notified. The party with the first offer has to be able to submit another offer - hence the bidding wars of three years ago.

It is correct that you have a building inspection done before you go to contract. And yes, you do need a lawyer for this.

For those of us who have lived in CT for a while, it's not such a big deal.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT