Step by Step Guide to selling your New York City co-op apartment

Selling a co-op apartment in New York City can be a complex process. In this guide, we’ll discuss the process, to help you sell your NYC co-op with confidence.

Once you’ve accepted an offer from a buyer, you’ll need to gather some information that your attorney will need in order to prepare the contract of sale. Your attorney will need to know the following:

1. The exact name of your cooperative corporation as it appears on your certificate of shares.
2. The number of shares
3. The name(s) stated on the stock certificate
4. The name address and contact information of the cooperative’s managing agent
5. The amount of the monthly maintenance and any assessments and their duration
6. The name(s) of the real estate broker(s)
7. Whether there is a flip tax
8. Any personal property other than furniture you’ll be taking, e.g. chandeliers, window air conditioners, etc.

Your attorney will prepare the contract based on the information you’ve provided and other information regarding the transaction usually set forth in a “deal memo” sent from the broker. You can download the latest standard NYC co-op contract by clicking the link below.

Your attorney will then email a PDF copy of the proposed contract to the buyer’s attorney for their review. In addition to the contract, the buyer’s attorney will want to review the cooperative corporation’s latest financial statements and the offering plan and amendments so you should be prepared to provide these documents. If you can’t locate the offering plan you may have to purchase a copy from your management.

Once you and the buyer have agreed to any changes proposed by the buyer’s attorney, the buyer will sign the contract and return it to your attorney with a check for the contract down payment. In the alternative, the buyer’s attorney may email a PDF copy of the signed contract to your attorney and have their client wire the down payment into your attorney’s escrow account.

After the contract has been signed by both sides, the buyer will apply for their loan (assuming they are getting financing) and will also apply for co-op board approval. This process may take 2 to 3 months until both approvals are obtained.

While the buyer is applying for their loan and co-op board approval, you need to provide your attorney with information concerning your existing loan. Your attorney will need to arrange for a payoff with your bank. Your bank will send your stock certificate and your proprietary lease, which they are holding, to their attorneys who will deliver them to the closing. It may take several weeks for your bank to send these documents to their attorneys so your attorney should order the payoff soon after the contract has been fully signed. If you didn’t finance the purchase of your apartment or have paid off your loan you should have your stock and lease. Make sure the documents are originals and not photocopies. The stock certificate will have a raised seal and the proprietary lease will have original ink signatures. If you can’t locate these documents you’ll need to take the steps set forth in my below blog article.

https://dippellaw.com/wordpress/i-own-a-new-york-city-co-op-but-cant-find-my-stock-and-lease-will-i-be-able-to-sell-my-apartment

Once your buyer has received a loan commitment and co-op board approval, your attorney can arrange for a closing which typically takes place at the office of the cooperative corporation’s attorneys.

Prior to the closing you should arrange to have all furniture and items of personal property removed. Be sure to check with the co-op’s management to make sure you’re complying with their move out procedures. The buyer will then do a final inspection of the apartment (the walk through) to make sure all appliances are working and the apartment is vacant and broom clean.

At the closing you’ll sign the transfer documents and transfer tax returns commonly called ACRIS documents. ACRIS stands for Automated City Register Information System. The ACRIS forms are generated by the city after information regarding your transaction is inputted into their website. The below link will bring you to the ACRIS web site.

https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/property/acris.page

Your attorney will typically pay the transfer taxes and the seller’s co-op fees out of the escrow account in which they are holding the down payment. Prior to the closing, your attorney will have advised the buyer’s attorney to have the balance of the purchase price paid by official bank checks which may include broker’s commissions, any loan payoff and the co-op’s flip tax, if any. The closing typically takes about 2 hours after which you’ll leave with checks representing the net proceeds of the sale.

Since the sale of a cooperative apartment has many unique aspects it’s important to choose an attorney who is familiar with New York City co-op closings to ensure your sale comes to a successful conclusion.