When buying a cooperative apartment the buyers need to be aware that most corporations require a prospective purchaser to submit an application and this application could, or I should say WILL consist of the buyer submitting documents that contain personal and confidential information concerning the buyers employment history and finances. Most likely the board will require a personal interview with the prospective buyer as well as all the people that will be residing in the apartment. Trust me – this process is hard for any buyer and the scrutiny that a buyer under goes has been compared to having your finger nails pulled out one by one. Ok, THAT might be a bit dramatic – but I kept you interested, didn’t I?
When dealing with prospective buyers of a co-op, as the listing agent/selling agent, I want to make sure that the applicant will qualify a board approval, before submitting or accepting any offers. But, what if the agents have both checked and double checked out the applicant’s and the application has been submitted and the buyers have gone before the board, to only find out that the buyers did not get approved? It is earth shattering.
Up until this year the Co-op board’s did not have to inform the prospective buyer why they were denied. But as far as I know this past January, the State has declared that the ALL Corporation boards must inform the applicant why they were denied if that is the case.
In the State of NY, discrimination is prohibited in Board application procedures and each board’s application process must comply with the following laws:
The New York State and New York CityHuman Rights Laws
There are 14 protected categories that an applicant can not be denied on:
- Age
- Disability
- Partnership Status
- Alien Status
- Gender(including gender identity)
- Race
- Children(or childless state)
- Lawful Occupation
- Religion
- Country of National Origin
- Marital Status
- Sexual Orientation
- Creed
- Military Status
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