As an owner of a cooperative apartment in New York City, you already know that your ownership interest consists of shares of stock in the cooperative corporation and a proprietary lease which entitles you to possession of\u00a0 your apartment.\u00a0 When you transfer ownership of the apartment, you will need to surrender the original stock certificate and\u00a0 proprietary lease at the closing of your sale.<\/p>\n
If you purchased your apartment with a loan from a bank, the original stock certificate and proprietary lease would have been taken by the bank’s attorney at the closing of your purchase and held by the bank until your loan is paid off.\u00a0 When you are under contract to sell your apartment, your attorney will need to contact your bank well before the anticipated closing date to arrange to have your bank deliver the original documents to the closing.\u00a0 Often banks take several weeks or more to locate and send these documents to their attorneys.\u00a0 The bank’s attorneys will then send a representative to the closing to deliver the stock certificate and lease upon receipt of a check paying off your loan.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, if you purchased your apartment without bank financing, you would have been given the original stock certificate and proprietary lease at your closing.\u00a0 When you are selling your apartment and cannot locate the original documents, you or your attorney must contact the co-op’s management company or their attorney to see what their policy is concerning lost stock certificates and leases.\u00a0 Some co-ops only require a “lost instrument affidavit and indemnification” which you will sign at the closing.\u00a0 Of course you will be charged an additional fee for the preparation of these documents.\u00a0 Other co-ops require that you obtain a type of title insurance called an Eagle 9 policy.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, if you receive the original stock certificate and proprietary lease when you buy your cooperative apartment, keep them in a safe place such as a safe deposit box or you may be faced with additional costs and delays if you can’t locate them when you decide to sell. Even if you believe you have the original documents, it’s a good idea to let your attorney review them prior to closing to make sure you won’t have any problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As an owner of a cooperative apartment in New York City, you already know that your ownership interest consists of shares of stock in the cooperative corporation and a proprietary lease which entitles you to possession of\u00a0 your apartment.\u00a0 When … Continue reading