what are your rights when buying an apartment?

anfield · January 2009

Hi all, some of you seem to have some really good advice in the realty world. A few questions - if one is buying a co-op from an owner what can one expect as far as the cleanliness of the apartment, specifically the fridge? What are the rules for smoke/carbon mono alarms? Who is responsible for child window guards? Thanks for any/all help.

jgregorie · January 2009

well its not like renting an apartment. once you buy it pretty much everything is up to you. when i bought my place it was empty. first thing i did was buy a new fridge and stove.

doctorj · January 2009

You get whatever is in the contract you're signing, and the default is as-is, what you see is what you get. So if you specifically want cleanliness and to keep appliances, I think you need to sort that out in advance when going into contract via your lawyer negotiating with theirs. It's possible for example to set up extra escrow to cover the cost of cleaning and the appliances, and to set up an inspection right before closing to make sure you're getting what you thought. Talk to your lawyer -- that's who you're paying to ensure you're getting what you thought.

sir_eccles · January 2009

Unless it is a pretty new fridge I would buy a new one as it will likely be a lot more efficient.

tajmb · January 2009

Child window guards in a co-op are just like those in a rental - the legal responsibility of the landlord. In this case the shareholders including you are the landlord. You need to ask the coop board what their policy is. Some boards put them in. Others have you do so and bill them. Either way it's more an issue between you and the coop than between you and the seller.

I wouldn't trust anyone on the carbon-monoxide/smoke detector issue. Unless the seller hands you the manual for the one in place and you think it's adequate, buy a new one and install it first thing.

You will do a walk through of the property the day of or before the closing to check the condition once the sellers have removed their belongings. If it's super filthy, ask your atty. to negotiate some kind of concession at the closing table.

alafairnadia · January 2009

if I bought my co-op now, I'd change out the smoke detector and install the carb monoxide one. I don't care about window guards -- if my friends are too stupid to not fall out, well, ack. (bear in mind the only window that opens goes to the fire escape).

I had my co-op professionally cleaned (including inside of the oven and fridge).

I'm not selling it like a pile of shit. it is a very cute apartment. but it was cruddy looking til the stuff came out and the cleaning took place.

frankly, though, I'm selling it as-is. why the hell would I paint walls when people in NYC want green or pink or yellow walls ... or just a different shade of white? me, I prefer white walls but living in NYC as long as I did, I had to put up with all sorts of absurd shit. whoever buys the place can paint it how they want.

but the fridge and stove/oven are newesque (a few years old), and totally cleaned by someone who actually gives a shit about that stuff.

doctorj · January 2009

alafairnadia wrote:
frankly, though, I'm selling it as-is. why the hell would I paint walls when people in NYC want green or pink or yellow walls ... or just a different shade of white? me, I prefer white walls but living in NYC as long as I did, I had to put up with all sorts of absurd shit. whoever buys the place can paint it how they want.

My understanding is that there's been extensive studies on which capital improvements to a home you can make your money back on and which ones are a waste, and the only one that's more or less guaranteed to pay for itself or better is a fresh paint job. Apparently even if people want their own color, it has such a strong psychological effect that they'll pay more for fresh white walls than it'll cost you to have them done. Stupid humans.

what are your rights when buying an apartment?

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