Closing questions
What is in a co-op board package?
A NYC co-op board package carries the application, contract, tax returns, financial statement, lender commitment and reference letters. What each item does.
What is in a co-op board package?
Quick Answer
The package is an underwriting file assembled by the purchaser for a board that has no obligation to explain its decision. It is read as a whole, so the goal is a file that answers the obvious questions before anyone has to ask them: what the purchaser earns, what the purchaser owns, what the purchaser owes, and who will occupy the apartment.
The financial statement is the spine. Assets, liabilities, income and the source of the down payment are set out on the building’s form, and the supporting documents behind each line have to match. A statement that lists an account the bank statements do not show, or a gift the file does not document, invites a request that costs weeks.
Reference letters carry more weight than buyers expect. Boards read them for tone as much as content, and a letter that is plainly a template does less than a short, specific one from someone who knows the purchaser. Landlord letters matter in a building that cares about how a resident behaves in a shared hallway.
The attorney’s role is to read the package against the proprietary lease and house rules before it goes in. A purchaser who intends to renovate, keep a dog, or eventually sublet should know what the building permits, because the package and the interview are where that intention becomes visible whether or not it is disclosed.
Does the board see the purchase price and the contract?
Yes. The executed contract of sale goes into the package, so the board sees the price, the down payment, the mortgage contingency and the closing terms. Some boards review price against recent sales in the building and question a figure they consider out of line, because a low comparable affects every other shareholder.
Who reviews the board package before the board does?
The managing agent screens it for completeness first and will bounce a package that is missing a single required item, without reading the rest. That review is mechanical, not substantive. Only after the agent is satisfied does the file reach the directors, which is why the checklist matters more than the narrative.
What else should you read before closing?
In the glossary
- Proprietary leaseThe occupancy lease a co-op corporation grants a shareholder for a specific unit. It is assigned at closing together with the stock certificate for...
- Maintenance (co-op)The monthly charge a co-op levies on each shareholder, covering building operations plus that shareholder's share of real estate taxes and the unde...
- Stock certificate (co-op)The certificate evidencing the shares allocated to a co-op apartment. Shares and the proprietary lease travel together and cannot be sold separatel...
- Flip taxA transfer fee charged by a co-op or, less often, a condominium when a unit changes hands. It is a creature of the building's governing documents, ...
- Offering planThe sponsor's filed disclosure document for a co-op or condominium, carrying its budget, share or common interest allocation, building rules and sp...
Questions this raises
- Do co-ops have title insurance?A NYC co-op purchase transfers shares, not real property, so no owner’s policy issues. What the lien search and UCC search do in place of a title p...
- Who pays the flip tax in a New York co-op sale?A flip tax usually comes off the seller’s proceeds, but plenty of New York buildings shift it to the purchaser. Why the rider has to name the payin...
- Why will a co-op lender not close without a recognition agreement?A co-op loan is secured by shares rather than a recorded mortgage, so no lender funds until the building signs an agreement respecting its interest.
- How long does co-op board approval take in NYC?Most NYC co-op boards decide three to eight weeks after a complete package arrives. What starts the clock, what stalls it, and where the interview ...
- What happens at a co-op board interview?The NYC co-op board interview is a short fit check after the package is read. What directors ask, what to avoid saying, and how soon the vote usual...
Building types
- Standard co-opThe ordinary New York City cooperative: you buy shares in a corporation and receive a proprietary lease to occupy a specific apartment.
- HDFC co-opAn affordable cooperative formed under Article XI of the Private Housing Finance Law, with an income cap on purchasers and a flip tax that runs to ...
- Mitchell-Lama co-opA limited-equity cooperative in the State and City Mitchell-Lama program, sold from a waiting list at a formula price rather than on the open market.
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Legal Disclaimer: This page is general information about New York practice. It is not legal advice, it does not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.