Navigating moving and real estate- New York City style
July 1, 2013 12:50 PM Subscribe
We are currently in the process of selling a co-op in Brooklyn and purchasing another co-op in Brooklyn. How do people pull this off without ending up temporarily homeless? Really NYC-specific stuff under the fold, so recent NYC real estate experience would be best.
Our co-op is on the market as of 7/5, and while our seller's agent is confident in demand (she's currently closing on a different unit in our building that went up for sale in March) there's a bureacratic snafu that makes getting a mortgage for a unit in our current building a pain in the ass. It is nothing we can do anything about, unfortunately, but it does make the closing date even more nebulous than it would have been.
On the other end, there are some issues (nothing correctable in the immediate future) that may make it difficult for us to pass a co-op board. Then again, they may not. We really have no way to tell until we get an approval or rejection letter.
Apartments in the neighborhood we'd like to live get scooped up pretty fast. Right now, both our seller's agent and our lawyer said there's not much of a point in doing anything more than window-shopping and figuring out what we want and our price range for when we're actually ready to start seeing places.
We don't know many people who own, and the ones who do either moved out of their parents place directly into their co-op, or stayed with relatives between their previous lease expiring and the co-op being closed on. Neither of these are options for us.
How do people pull this off without having to crash on someone's couch or taking out a sublet or month-to-month and having to move twice? Should we get a buyer's agent as well? Would that help? Is there anyone else we can go to and say "take our money and make this easier"?
Oh and to make things even more fun, we have a dog.
Our co-op is on the market as of 7/5, and while our seller's agent is confident in demand (she's currently closing on a different unit in our building that went up for sale in March) there's a bureacratic snafu that makes getting a mortgage for a unit in our current building a pain in the ass. It is nothing we can do anything about, unfortunately, but it does make the closing date even more nebulous than it would have been.
On the other end, there are some issues (nothing correctable in the immediate future) that may make it difficult for us to pass a co-op board. Then again, they may not. We really have no way to tell until we get an approval or rejection letter.
Apartments in the neighborhood we'd like to live get scooped up pretty fast. Right now, both our seller's agent and our lawyer said there's not much of a point in doing anything more than window-shopping and figuring out what we want and our price range for when we're actually ready to start seeing places.
We don't know many people who own, and the ones who do either moved out of their parents place directly into their co-op, or stayed with relatives between their previous lease expiring and the co-op being closed on. Neither of these are options for us.
How do people pull this off without having to crash on someone's couch or taking out a sublet or month-to-month and having to move twice? Should we get a buyer's agent as well? Would that help? Is there anyone else we can go to and say "take our money and make this easier"?
Oh and to make things even more fun, we have a dog.
Bridge loans are one idea.
I would not count on anything your broker says; they are wired to be optimistic over every sale.
posted by dfriedman at 2:24 PM on July 1, 2013
I would not count on anything your broker says; they are wired to be optimistic over every sale.
posted by dfriedman at 2:24 PM on July 1, 2013
I'm doing this right now. I got a sublet because it was just too damn annoying to do any other way. Bridge loans really complicate the financing and approval process. Frankly the sublet seemed more cost-effective. Even if I have to move twice in four months.
posted by zvs at 2:59 PM on July 1, 2013
posted by zvs at 2:59 PM on July 1, 2013
I've done this in NYC and yes, it was a pain to move twice, but the market there is SO limited and insane, that I knew after a few weeks of looking that it was absolutely going to take months to find something I wanted to buy (and I am NOT a picky buyer).
What I did was packed 2 suitcases, laptop, etc., moved everything else into storage, got a short-term rental and then took my slow-ass time finding a new co-op. It was really only moving once, in a way.
I cannot begin to tell you how much this method relaxed me in a really stressful situation. When you're feeling the pressure to sell now and buy SOMETHING/ANYTHING now, it makes you crazy.
posted by kinetic at 5:05 AM on July 2, 2013
What I did was packed 2 suitcases, laptop, etc., moved everything else into storage, got a short-term rental and then took my slow-ass time finding a new co-op. It was really only moving once, in a way.
I cannot begin to tell you how much this method relaxed me in a really stressful situation. When you're feeling the pressure to sell now and buy SOMETHING/ANYTHING now, it makes you crazy.
posted by kinetic at 5:05 AM on July 2, 2013
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The good part of it is, you buy and close on your new place before selling your old place. The bridge loan allows you to have two mortgages simultaneously.
The bad news is that you're carrying two mortgages simultaneously.
But, it does make the process a lot less stressful if what you have more of is money, and what you need more of is convenience and time.
I'm surprised your realtor didn't discuss it with you.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:11 PM on July 1, 2013