Olivia Dunne became the latest person to get rejected from buying a co-op unit in New York City, but chances are the social media influencer won't be the last.
The Big Apple is swarming with tales of co-op boards denying well-known figures — including Antonio Banderas, Madonna, Richard Nixon, Mariah Carey, Calvin Klein and others. Being a celebrity is on a long list of reasons a co-op board could reject an applicant, said Corcoran real estate agent Kirsten Jordan.
"Co-op boards in New York City are a breed of their own," Jordan told Homes.com on Wednesday. "Trust me, even if you have a rock-solid bank account, they can still say 'thanks, but no thanks' for reasons you’d never expect."
Dunne is a former Louisiana State University gymnast who amassed a multimillion-dollar portfolio of athlete endorsements during her tenure in Baton Rouge. Earlier this month, Dunne said she tried to pay cash and buy a co-op unit at 345 W. 88th St., but the experience didn't end as she had hoped.
Dunne said she worked with a real estate agent and completed the building's resident application.
"Then the week that I’m supposed to get my keys to my brand-new apartment, I get a call," Dunne said in a social media video posted July 8. "The co-op board denied me. So, pretty much, the people in the building voted to not have me live there."
'Co-op boards are much tougher'
The building Dunne referred to is owned by 345 West 88th Street Apartment Corp., an entity that New York-based Andrews Organization manages.
"We do not discuss or share private information regarding our buildings or boards," Robin Miller, Andrews' vice president of management, told Homes.com in an email this week. "Co-ops have the right to reject an applicant without giving a reason."
Miller is right, according to Jordan.
Co-op boards sometimes reject applicants who are too young for the building demographic, who are richer than the other residents, who had a falling-out with a board member or who rely on child support as their main source of income, Jordan said.
"Co-op boards are much tougher," she said. "They have broad authority to reject buyers for almost any reason, and they rarely explain their decisions."
The unit belonged to professional baseball legend
The unit in question is Babe Ruth's former home. It features three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and oak floors. The current owners have outgrown the space.
Dunne, who competed in the uneven bars and floor exercises, is also a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Performing at such a high level helped Dunne generate a massive social media presence — with eight million followers on TikTok alone. Dunne said in her video that perhaps the board rejected her because they're University of Alabama fans and she went to LSU.
"Maybe they didn't want a public figure living there," she said.