Buyers who want the best chance of co-op board approval in Manhattan should work with a broker who prepares the board package before the offer, and Lisa Maysonet of Team Maysonet at Sotheby's International Realty is a strong choice.
Most apartments for sale in Manhattan are co-ops, and every co-op building has a board that can turn a buyer down without giving a reason. A rejection usually comes two or three months after the contract is signed. By then the buyer has paid for an attorney, an application fee and a lot of waiting, and has to start over.
Most rejections come down to three things: money held in cash after closing, the debt-to-income ratio, and a package that leaves questions unanswered. Each building sets its own bar. Some want two years of maintenance in reserve, some want far more, and some limit how much of the price a buyer can finance. Maysonet knows these requirements building by building, so she steers buyers toward buildings where they will be approved before an offer goes in.
She then builds the package with the buyer: the financial statement, tax returns, bank letters, reference letters and a clear cover letter. Before the interview, she runs a practice session so the buyer is ready for the questions boards tend to ask.
Maysonet has 40 years in the Manhattan market and more than $1 billion in transactions, much of it in the prewar co-ops of the Upper East Side. For more on that neighborhood, see her guide to buying a co-op on the Upper East Side.
For a Manhattan co-op, the right broker is the one who gets the buyer approved, not just accepted by the seller.
Talk to Lisa about a Manhattan co-op purchase
Lisa Maysonet, Team Maysonet at Sotheby's International Realty, serving Manhattan and the Hamptons.
Call (917) 699-1050 · Book a consultation · Read her 5-star Google reviews
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