NYC Co-Op Bill (They have to tell you why they rejected you if bill passes.)

Many Manhattan councilmembers silent on bill requiring co-ops to explain rejections

For many New Yorkers who want to buy homes, co-op boards are anxiety-inducing — with the endeavor of going before one the culmination of a lengthy and pricey process. Potential buyers face infamously invasive questioning and financial reviews reminiscent of tax audits. But if they’re turned down, they’ll probably never know exactly why.

A bill before the City Council would change that by requiring boards in buildings with at least 10 units to explain the reasons they reject prospective purchasers, and impose fines up to $25,000 for failing to comply. The legislation has gained 29 Council sponsors since Public Advocate Jumaane Williams introduced it in February of last year. But it’s just the latest in a decades-long series of similar, though unsuccessful measures that have faced fierce opposition from co-op boards.

What do you think? If a co-op board digs through your life and finances, then rejects you, must they tell you why?

I would never, never, want to live in a co-op or a home subject to an HOA. But that's just me.

Loulit01 said:

Many Manhattan councilmembers silent on bill requiring co-ops to explain rejections

For many New Yorkers who want to buy homes, co-op boards are anxiety-inducing — with the endeavor of going before one the culmination of a lengthy and pricey process. Potential buyers face infamously invasive questioning and financial reviews reminiscent of tax audits. But if they’re turned down, they’ll probably never know exactly why.

A bill before the City Council would change that by requiring boards in buildings with at least 10 units to explain the reasons they reject prospective purchasers, and impose fines up to $25,000 for failing to comply. The legislation has gained 29 Council sponsors since Public Advocate Jumaane Williams introduced it in February of last year. But it’s just the latest in a decades-long series of similar, though unsuccessful measures that have faced fierce opposition from co-op boards.

Many Manhattan councilmembers silent on bill requiring co-ops to explain rejections

A stalled City Council bill requiring co-op boards to give reasons for rejecting applicants has 29 sponsors. Lawmakers with the most co-op units in their districts have not sponsored the legislation.

gothamist.com

What do you think? If a co-op board digs through your life and finances, then rejects you, must they tell you why?

I would never, never, want to live in a co-op or a home subject to an HOA. But that's just me.

Click to expand...

HOA’s are the worst. Avoid at all cost.

Sounds like a good idea. I'd like it to go a bit further. If the applicant can prove the reason for the rejection is bogus, the co-op board has to either accept the applicant or compensate them in some way. They should not be allowed to change their reason for the rejection.

The idea that in order to get 'permission' from a private group who gets to 'undress you' in virtually every respect to live somewhere must be worth something.

HOA's and their seemingly endless resolution to be petty, sanctimonious and invasive, should be a broader topic. I have not read or heard a lot of gushing defenses of HOA's place in the hearts of Americans over the years. Those HOA boards need one very impressive smackdown of their egos. Its been due for decades.

Pardon, but being from Texas, whats a Co_op? The only Co-Op I know of was a grocery the wife was part of while at UT.

zincwarrior said:

Pardon, but being from Texas, whats a Co_op? The only Co-Op I know of was a grocery the wife was part of while at UT.

Click to expand...

A housing Co-Op is much like a HOA, but without ownership of the leased property.

Loulit01 said:

Many Manhattan councilmembers silent on bill requiring co-ops to explain rejections

For many New Yorkers who want to buy homes, co-op boards are anxiety-inducing — with the endeavor of going before one the culmination of a lengthy and pricey process. Potential buyers face infamously invasive questioning and financial reviews reminiscent of tax audits. But if they’re turned down, they’ll probably never know exactly why.

A bill before the City Council would change that by requiring boards in buildings with at least 10 units to explain the reasons they reject prospective purchasers, and impose fines up to $25,000 for failing to comply. The legislation has gained 29 Council sponsors since Public Advocate Jumaane Williams introduced it in February of last year. But it’s just the latest in a decades-long series of similar, though unsuccessful measures that have faced fierce opposition from co-op boards.

Many Manhattan councilmembers silent on bill requiring co-ops to explain rejections

A stalled City Council bill requiring co-op boards to give reasons for rejecting applicants has 29 sponsors. Lawmakers with the most co-op units in their districts have not sponsored the legislation.

gothamist.com

What do you think? If a co-op board digs through your life and finances, then rejects you, must they tell you why?

I would never, never, want to live in a co-op or a home subject to an HOA. But that's just me.

Click to expand...

I lived in a Manhattan co-op of 500 units.
The co-op board is made up of neighbor volunteers committed to maintain the quality of life and economic viability of the private property of share holders of the co-op.

An applicant is asking for approval to join a community, not to buy or rent from a for profit commercial business. The board hires the door persons and the superintendent. They aren’t required to explain to applicants to those positions why they were not hired. The door people observe your entire private life, especially of concern to single women co-op share holders. In the two buildings I resided in, the door staff had to quickly learn to recognize the faces of who was authorized to enter the lobby of the building without being challenged. A well functioning NYC co-op is a pleasant, secure place to live. Politicians need not make achieving that more difficult on the co-op shareholders, board, or staff than it already is. A co-op closely resembles a private club versus a business of selling or renting residential units for profit.
O

ttwtt78640 said:

A housing Co-Op is much like a HOA, but without ownership of the leased property.

What’s the Difference Between a Condominium, Co-Op, and HOA? | Wise

Navigating the different housing designations and what they mean can be tricky.

wisepropertymanagement.com

What Sets Homeowner, Condo & Co-op Associations Apart?

Common interest communities are also known as homeowner’s associations, condo associations, and co-op associations. These community associations have one...

www.njrealtysolutions.com

Click to expand...

So why would they get to do all that review stuff? HOA's can't do that. APologies for my ignorance.

I would think they would have to by law state the reasons due to Civil Rights regulations. Or maybe thats the point of why they weren't.

zincwarrior said:

So why would they get to do all that review stuff? HOA's can't do that. APologies for my ignorance.

I would think they would have to by law state the reasons due to Civil Rights regulations. Or maybe thats the point of why they weren't.

Click to expand...

HOAs tend to have many stupid rules, which is why I won’t do (exterior) work for folks living in them.

post said:

I lived in a Manhattan co-op of 500 units.
The co-op board is made up of neighbor volunteers committed to maintain the quality of life and economic viability of the private property of share holders of the co-op.

An applicant is asking for approval to join a community, not to buy or rent from a for profit commercial business. The board hires the door persons and the superintendent. They aren’t required to explain to applicants to those positions why they were not hired. The door people observe your entire private life, especially of concern to single women co-op share holders. In the two buildings I resided in, the door staff had to quickly learn to recognize the faces of who was authorized to enter the lobby of the building without being challenged. A well functioning NYC co-op is a pleasant, secure place to live. Politicians need not make achieving that more difficult on the co-op shareholders, board, or staff than it already is. A co-op closely resembles a private club versus a business of selling or renting residential units for profit.
O

Click to expand...

There are some people who thrive under co-op boards and Home Owners' Associations. Then there are people like me.

A co-op is not a private club. Co-ops are more like corporations. The residents buy shares that come with the right to live there. That's my understanding.

All the bill says is if you're rejected after baring your bloody souls to a bunch of strangers, you have a right to know why. Sounds reasonable to me. There are fair housing laws in effect after all.

The problem is once some people get a taste of a little power, they lose perspective. I can only imagine the preponderance of Mrs. Grundys on those boards.

btthegreat said:

HOA's and their seemingly endless resolution to be petty, sanctimonious and invasive, should be a broader topic. I have not read or heard a lot of gushing defenses of HOA's place in the hearts of Americans over the years. Those HOA boards need one very impressive smackdown of their egos. Its been due for decades.

Click to expand...

HOAs have their place. They do in fact help protect property values for the owners. And the rules in place were voted on by the people who were going to be subject to those rules. People who want to move in later have to agree to the HOA rules in order to buy in. The problem is of course, people don't necessarily think some of these rules through before approving them. It's not until they get smacked with one of them that they start having second thoughts.

Another thing is this, court cases have demonstrated that if there is an HOA rule, it must be enforced right from the beginning and consistently. Otherwise it is not really a rule, but rather a mere suggestion, and suggestions are not enforceable.

Remember this also, any homeowner can petition to have the HOA rules changed. They can even run to be a member of the board if they like. If they can convince enough of their neighbors, rules can change.

We hardly ever hear from the homeowners who like their HOA rules. Squeaky wheels and all that.

Stealers Wheel said:

We hardly ever hear from the homeowners who like their HOA rules. Squeaky wheels and all that.

Click to expand...

I have no problem with our HOA, and they have bugged me on occasion.

Where do you people live that you need HOAs? NJ isn't known for politeness and good manners, but I've never had a problem with my neighbors. They mow their lawns, rake their leaves, wash their cars, cleanup after their dogs. Their houses are nicely painted, they bring in their trash cans. Anyone who threw a big party invited everyone else and the noise stopped at 10 p.m.

Things like HOAs just rub me the wrong way from the start. I could never live in those neighborhoods.

Loulit01 said:

Where do you people live that you need HOAs? NJ isn't known for politeness and good manners, but I've never had a problem with my neighbors. They mow their lawns, rake their leaves, wash their cars, cleanup after their dogs. Their houses are nicely painted, they bring in their trash cans. Anyone who threw a big party invited everyone else and the noise stopped at 10 p.m.

Things like HOAs just rub me the wrong way from the start. I could never live in those neighborhoods.

Click to expand...

You'd be amazed at what some people will do to trash their own property, and in the process destroy the beauty of a neighborhood. Park junker cars on their lawns, paint their houses ugly as **** colors, let trash pile up all over the place, etc.

Stealers Wheel said:

You'd be amazed at what some people will do to trash their own property, and in the process destroy the beauty of a neighborhood. Park junker cars on their lawns, paint their houses ugly as **** colors, let trash pile up all over the place, etc.

Click to expand...

Yes, I would be surprised. I've never seen anything like that.

Fortunately, we have just a handful of HOA's in this area of North Carolina (and across the State line in Virginia). The few that do exist tend to be very small, very exclusive enclaves. I recently put the stake through an old HOA on the Virginia side. A community was laid out in the late 1980's, but do to circumstances, only two houses were ever built and two owners wrapped up and shut down the HOA within the first year. When I purchased the remaining lots, with the approval of the two existing owners (one being an original owner), I had the HOA covenants and other covenants voided and then re-platted the land for larger lots. (Instead of numerous 1 acre lots, as far smaller number of 5 to 8 acre lots.)

Unfortunately, large scale builders just love HOA's and include them with literally every standard American suburb they build. Thankfully we don't get those in this are.

I have 100+ acres and most of my immediate neighbors have at least 5 acres. Many properties are out of view of the road and if somebody is running a junk yard or an animal farm, their neighbor would not know. An HOA busybody would likely find themselves looking down a rifle barrel if they came nosing around here.

VySky said:

HOA’s are the worst. Avoid at all cost.

Click to expand...

They don't exist in the UK.
They seem to be full of the type of person who if given the tiniest bit of power will instantly think they're some kind of Lord and start making stupid demands of everyone in the HOA.

I would rather be homeless than live in a HOA property.
It's my house I can do what I like with it.