What to ask for from prospective coop owner?

We have done this a million times, but, I jsut want to make sure I am not missing anything. We have a meeting in a few weeks with a prospective owner and I am sending a list of documents we require, am I missing anything?

-Government ID with his name and date of birth
-6 months pay stubs
-letter from employer confirming employment, pay scale and guarantee of future employment
-6 months rent receipts from present apartment or, mortgage receipts/canceled checks if he owns now
-letter from present landlord confirming what sort of tenant he has been, etc.
-3 letters of personal recommendation (these can be from friends or relatives, preferably one from a neighbor attesting to what type of neighbor he has been)

We are a small building and tend towards being more informal, we are self managed, etc.

ask to be his Facebook friend.

Actually, Meredith has hit on something by accident.

Search his name on all the major social networks, you find out a lot about people by what they post on facebook, myspace, freindster etc...

will an employer actually give a guarantee of future employment?! I am surprised that they would do that - seems to me like the employer could go after them if they get laid off after that

Well, not so much a guarantee as a 'this person has been with the firm for such and such years and at this time, we do not see any reason for them not to be...) that sort of thing

Mamacita wrote: Actually, Meredith has hit on something by accident.

Search his name on all the major social networks, you find out a lot about people by what they post on facebook, myspace, freindster etc...

didn't even think of that, good ideas!

Just checked, no Facebook, No My Space

Linkedin, twitter

try those!

Here's another question, maybe I am old fashioned, but, does it seem odd to anyone else that they are purchasing a $359k apartment in cash?

I mean, who has that type of cash? When I told my downstairs neighbor, they became immediately suspicious, are we just nuts?

All cash isn't outright suspicious. Depends on the circumstances...did they recently downsize from a larger apartment they had owned for an extended period of time? Work for an extended period of time in a high paying profession? Receive a large inheritance?

If the all cash is prompted by inability to get a mortgage....then maybe it's suspicious. I assume you do some sort of credit check and ask about previous bankruptcy filings?

I also google their email address, phone number, etc. Then again, try not to judge on things like political contributions, etc. ....just the stuff that really concerns their ability to buy and be able to keep up payments, etc.

arches wrote: All cash isn't outright suspicious. Depends on the circumstances...did they recently downsize from a larger apartment they had owned for an extended period of time? Work for an extended period of time in a high paying profession? Receive a large inheritance?

If the all cash is prompted by inability to get a mortgage....then maybe it's suspicious. I assume you do some sort of credit check and ask about previous bankruptcy filings?

I told my neighbor all of those things when she immediately jumped to a bad conclusion when hearing all cash, LOL. Thanks for making more points about it.

Also, things like working abroad or being a foreigner, means you work a lot in cash/money orders.

I'd be very suspicious of any who doesn't have a Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook or MySpace page.

Unless they were over 50.

Mamacita wrote: Also, things like working abroad or being a foreigner, means you work a lot in cash/money orders.

Hmm, he is a foreigner. And no go on Linked or twitter also, Guess he is just not a social person, LOL

Flexichick wrote: I also google their email address, phone number, etc. Then again, try not to judge on things like political contributions, etc. ....just the stuff that really concerns their ability to buy and be able to keep up payments, etc.

I do not have an email address for him and the only phone number I have is a cell phone number.

LongTimeSloper wrote: Hmm, he is a foreigner. And no go on Linked or twitter also, Guess he is just not a social person, LOL

Get his FBI/CIA report.

MeredithB wrote: I'd be very suspicious of any who doesn't have a Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook or MySpace page.

Unless they were over 50.

My husband doesn't have any of those, LOL!

I highly doubt this guy is over 50 considering he is buying a 4th floor walk up, but, you never know.

MeredithB wrote: [quote=LongTimeSloper]Hmm, he is a foreigner. And no go on Linked or twitter also, Guess he is just not a social person, LOL

Get his FBI/CIA report.

You are a riot, yes, you are

Our building also asks for last two years tax returns, plus latest bank, brokerage and any other investment account statements. You should run credit check too if you haven't already.

what is a rent receipt? i have never gotten anything like that from a landlord.

i also think requiring a letter from your current landlord is a bit much. when we bought our place, we had 6 months to go on our lease (can't always time things to coincide with the ending of the lease), and i'm sure our landlord wasn't thrilled to have to find a new tenant 6 months early. everything worked out and they found someone and we got out of the lease, but i can't imagine having to ask the landlord for a recommendation a couple weeks after we had just told them a couple weeks prior that we wanted out.

i think if you get a letter of recommendation from a neighbor and then ask them to provide a copy of their credit report that would tell you everything you are hoping to find out from the landlord.

cashed rent checks = receipt.

I agree about the landlord thing. If they have been in the same place for any amount of time, you're probably in good shape. I was in the same place for 10 years - if my LL didn't like me, I would have not been offered lease renewal. Then she died and her asshole son moved in and even though I gave proper notice, left the house spotless, etc., I wouldn't trust him to say anything decent about anybody.

LongTimeSloper wrote: Well, not so much a guarantee as a 'this person has been with the firm for such and such years and at this time, we do not see any reason for them not to be...) that sort of thing

so do you honestly think that they would say "oh yeah, he's been with us for a long time....but i think we will be laying him off in a month or so" ?

lol

I think proof of employment with pay stubs is good enough. I never liked the fact that someone knows what I make who isnt my boss anyway. But to have to actually call my boss so I can own property? .... On a personal opinion, thats going too far.

about the all cash thing.... yeah it's weird. I'm used to part cash and mortgage the rest.
Being a foreigner doesnt help his case either with me. I mean, cant he just pack up and go and not be found? I dunno.

hitokiri wrote: Being a foreigner doesnt help his case either with me. I mean, cant he just pack up and go and not be found? I dunno.

And leave behind a real estate asset with no attached liabilities? Sure, he could...but why would he? If he stops paying maint., the co-op has first (and in this case, only) lien on his property (unless he does some sort of mortgage/home equity line after the closing - but that is subject to board approval anyway).

Flexichick wrote: cashed rent checks = receipt.

I agree about the landlord thing. If they have been in the same place for any amount of time, you're probably in good shape. I was in the same place for 10 years - if my LL didn't like me, I would have not been offered lease renewal. Then she died and her asshole son moved in and even though I gave proper notice, left the house spotless, etc., I wouldn't trust him to say anything decent about anybody.

The reason for the landlord letter is because we want to see what sort of tenant he/she has been. Have they paid rent on time (dates on checks can say anything), have they abused the property, etc. etc.. I am assuming this guy has not been in his apartment for 10 years because he is too young to have lived anywhere for 10 years. But, you make a point about the lease renewal, if he was a bad tenant, they wouldn't keep renewing.

As for rent receipts, years ago when i had one of my first apartments, I used to pay my rent in cash because if I did, my LL gave me a break on my rent. So, she used to give me rent receipts since I didn't have checks to prove that I had paid her. If he has paid his rent via check, then canceled checks are fine.

As for anyone other than your boss knowing what you make, yeah, I kind of feel the same way, but in this case, we have to know what this person makes to make sure they will be able to pay the maintenance.

When I bought my coop, I didn't have to go through all that because I had a sponsor apartment...but to get my mortgage I had to show 2 or 3 years of tax returns, W-2s, credit check and they needed to confirm employment (by the way, my company won't answer any inquiry unless it's in writing - and I can't imagine any company speculating on the future of someone's employment).

And - I'm over 50 and I have a Facebook account :-), but you can't see any of my posts unless you're my friend.

And as far as cash...could be an inheritance...

just for renting my apartment, they wanted all that.
I refused my tax return. It's a freekin apt, not a house. They didnt argue it with me lol

guess i "won" that battle....even though they easily have enough of my info to steal my identity.....

LTS - I ran one of those $40 background checks on the LL's asshole son and found out he had a long arrest record (no surprises there). I kept that info in my back pocket in case things ever got too ugly

Peanuts wrote: When I bought my coop, I didn't have to go through all that because I had a sponsor apartment...but to get my mortgage I had to show 2 or 3 years of tax returns, W-2s, credit check and they needed to confirm employment (by the way, my company won't answer any inquiry unless it's in writing - and I can't imagine any company speculating on the future of someone's employment).

And - I'm over 50 and I have a Facebook account :-), but you can't see any of my posts unless you're my friend.

And as far as cash...could be an inheritance...

Well, since he isn't getting a mortgage, he hasn't had to prove his financial status to anyone yet. But, yeah, good idea on the inheritance, wish I had a relative to leave me $300k! LOL

As for the letter from the employer, we have always asked for that and have always received one from the various people who have bought into this building over the years. Maybe they just work for odd companies that don't mind writing sucha thing???

I don't think you'll ever have a problem finding an employer who'll say "John Doe has been employed with the Doe Company since 1990." Asking if he'll continue to be employed there is the problem.

^^Well, that would be fine

Thanks for all the advise