SELLING YOUR APARTMENT

Congratulations on your move. You are leaving your home and need to know what now?

Is your apartment in good condition? Should you renovate before selling? Where is your stock and lease? What are your expenses?

The first question is “how much is my apartment worth?” Your neighbors will tell you that the price of your apartment has skyrocketed and your neighbors are right. What is the right price? Call us and we’ll meet with you to give you an idea of what price you should list your apartment and show you what other similar apartments have sold for in your building and similar buildings. What goes into pricing a property? The condition of your property; is it recently renovated; does it need substantial repairs; is it in a good school district; what have other similar properties sold for recently; do you need to sell quickly; is it so cluttered that people can’t see its value; is it old; is it new; is it near shopping; is it near houses of worship; is it on a highway or is there privacy. Pricing a property right is key to its selling. However, in this market where the demand is so high and the inventory so low, this office prices it on the higher end (unless the seller needs a quick sale) because that is our obligation – to get the highest price. But overpricing is very dangerous as some people won’t see your property if it is priced unreasonably. It is a fine line. We recently priced an apartment for far more than that line had ever gotten (because of such demand) and we got more than the asking price. That wasn’t a gamble. We told the seller that this was a very high price – the seller was willing to test the market and it worked.

Should you renovate? What will the buyer want? Well, you don’t know because you don’t know yet who your buyer is. Putting in a lot of money in improvements rarely pays off. But cleaning out the clutter so the apartment looks bigger is very sensible. You are also going to have to do this for the move anyway so why not now? Minimal painting to spruce up the apartment could also pay big dividends. If there are leaks on the ceiling have them fixed by the super. Leaks in the ceiling make people very nervous.

Where is your stock and proprietary lease? If you have a mortgage then the bank holds them. If there is no mortgage then you have them at home or IN your safe deposit box. Just be sure to find them or it will cost at least $350 for replacements at the closing.

Unlike a apartment, the buyer rarely has an engineering inspection done. If the buyer is from Manhattan, then the inspection is more likely but still so rare.

Call a broker and list your property. Most apartment sales go through brokers in Riverdale and as an attorney I can tell you that deals fall through far more often if there is no broker than if a broker is involved. Should you give an exclusive or open listing? The advantage of the exclusive is that your broker has much greater incentive to advertise because she knows she’ll get the deal. In this office, we advertise immediately on our website, MLS, on Realtor.com, in the New York Times, in the Riverdale Review and Marketplace and in the Riverdale Press. We have the highest advertising budget in Riverdale and believe that the more people your property is exposed to the more likely it is to sell at the highest price. Advertising pays off. We do not keep our listings to our own agents but immediately share with all brokers to maximize your exposure. What else will the broker do besides bring you a buyer. A good broker will qualify your buyer to be sure s/he can get a mortgage. A good broker will round up any missing materials. A good broker who has a legal background will deal with issues with the Board of Directors and anything else that it takes to get the job done. A good broker does a lot of running around.

Do you have lead paint in the apartment? It is likely but don’t go to the expense of removing it as most buyers understand that there is lead in virtually every apartment built in New York City before 1970.

Who should your attorney be? We at Koppell River Realty can recommend attorneys but it really is better for you to get your own attorney as you want that person working only for you and not for future referrals. If you do take a recommendation from your broker just don’t tell the attorney that the broker referred you.

Upon signing the contract the buyer will give a down payment of 10% in an uncertified check made payable to your attorney. This money is held until the closing and generally only returned if the mortgage is refused. If the buyer is getting a mortgage it may take up to 6 weeks. Until both parties have signed the contract there is no enforceable deal and either party can walk away.

After both parties have signed the contract and the buyer has gotten a mortgage, the buyer must apply to the Board of Directors for admission to the cooperative. Most applications are approved. If your buyer is approved then the closing usually takes place within two weeks of the interview. If your buyer is not approved then put the apartment on the market immediately. It is a rare board that will change its mind or even tell you why the buyer was rejected. You can try to get this information and occasionally, very occationally, the Board will reverse itself.

Before closing on a apartment, the buyer will do a "walk-through." This is done either the day of or the day before the closing. The walk-through is where the buyer makes sure that everything is in working order; that the appliances work; that the faucets work; that the electricity works and that everything in the contract is there. The buyer will usually check the heating and air-conditioning; lift the windows - look at the ceiling. The apartment should be in the same condition as when you went to contract. If not, the buyer will let you know. You will be anxious at the walk through because you will assume that there will be problems. Rest easy. The apartment is almost always in the same condition. If possible, maintain a good relationship with the buyer during this process as the buyer can let things slide at the walk-through or be very picky.

What are your costs? There is a transfer fee of 1% of the selling price to the City of New York if the apartment is under $500,000; and 1.425% if over $500,000. There is a transfer fee of $4.00 per thousand to the State of New York. If you have a mortgage there is a fee of about $450 for your bank to come to the closing to bring your stock and lease so they can be surrendered to the new buyer. There are other very minor fees. Your attorneys’ fee is anywhere from$1,000 to $1,500.

The closing usually takes about 2 hours. It can be very easy if the parties have been friendly or it will be a continuation of an unpleasant buying process where everyone has to have the final "gotcha."

Right before the closing please do two things – make sure there is a SMOKE ALARM and HI-TECH CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR as they are required for closing.

I do hope that this has been helpful and I really hope that you will list your property with us. We have agents who are also lawyers and are happy to use their legal skills to assist the deal. We don’t represent a seller as lawyers when we are also the broker as that would be a conflict of interest. But we certainly know our way around the legal world of real estate. The principle broker in this office has done thousands of closings – successfully.

KEEP US IN MIND and COME LIST WITH US!

Lorraine Coyle

RESOURCES

Moving company – CeePee Moving Systems – Stephen Coughlin (914) 377-0536
or cell (914) 760-3736
Painter: Danny Nelson (718) 798-9312

© 2004