If you use the “search this forum” feature on here on the “New York City Housing Lottery” there are many posts on this.
There are hundreds maybe even thousands of Housing Connect new empty apartments each year. There are many fewer vacancies each year at NYC Mitchell Lama’s which are all decades old and already occupied. Because they are already occupied they only have lotteries to join waitlists for possible future vacancies. There is no good way to predict vacancies other than perhaps learning the ages of tenants and co-op owners. If a Mitchell Lama building has an average occupancy age of 80 then we can assume that vacancies would occur more often than if the average age was 40.
In a nutshell, the application processes are different, and the Mitchell-Lama process can be very very slow, years even more than a decade. Although, in this forum there are a very few posts about a Mitchell-Lama taking under a year or just a year or two.
Mitchell-Lama, because it’s slow, only has a short application at first. Presumably, this is because they know a household’s size and income will likely shift by the time they are offered an apt. With such a long wait, it does not make sense to go into details about income presently but instead wait until an offer can be made which might be years from now.
Why is Mitchell-Lama slow? There has not been a Mitchell Lama built in NYC in decades. Compared to Housing Connect lotteries that are constantly offering new buildings that are entirely empty. A single Mitchell Lama building might only have three vacancies in a year, and often no vacancies in a year for 2 bedroom units and larger.
One reason why there are so few vacancies at Mitchell Lama buildings is they are often excellent values for the money. Some have pools, and some have both pools and parking. Tenants and co-op owners are not motivated to leave.
If you get a log# for a Mitchell Lama, my suggestion is take it, pay the application fee. Then just wait. If today the particular Mitchell Lama does not seem to suit you, you can ignore those feelings because circumstances could have changed by the time they get to your log#. The fee is not enormous, and a portion of it is refundable. It’s true that you might not get called soon enough to matter, but if you are called it can be life changing and the fee is nothing in comparison.
I suppose I have emphasized that Mitchell Lama is slow, but there are exceptions, and it’s not so transparent. A Mitchell Lama on the Upper West Side near Central Park would like move more slowly because of its desirability keeps vacancies low. However, a Mitchell Lama on Coney Island could move faster because it’s so far from Manhattan.
If you want a two bedroom but have been offered a log# for a one bedroom Mitchell Lama take the log # and pay the application fee. If you move into the Mitchell Lama there will likely be waitlist internally for a larger apartment. If you get tired of waiting for a larger apt there you can move out. In the interim you likely have been able to save move for the move. Also, if the wait is long to move initially to the one bedroom, your household needs might have changed and a one bedroom suits you, and likely will be a good value for money.
By the way, just because you live in a Mitchell Lama or are on a waitlist does not prevent you from entering other lotteries or living in a lottery apartment. One of the very few exceptions is if you already live in a Mitchell Lama, some lotteries for that same building don’t let you enter.
This is excellent advice. As someone who lives in a Mitchell Lama, I might add that's once you are offered an apartment, the process is quick. Mitchell Lamas only want to see your previous year's W2s and a letter of employment. If you're self-employed, you'll just need to verify your income for the previous year. Mitchell Lamas do not look at your bank statements or assets. You can even own another property and still get a Mitchell Lama as long as it becomes your primary residence. Once you bring in your paperwork and they offer you an apartment, you may or may not have to meet with some members of the co-op board (I did). It's a very informal meeting. Once you have board approval, there's a home visit (which takes 5 minutes) and then your paperwork goes off to the HPD. HPD approval take 4-6 weeks.