The co-op board interview is the final step before being permitted to close on
a co-op apartment in New York City. I'm Nick from Hauseit and in today's video
we will demystify the topic of a co-op board interview and give you some
actionable tips as a buyer on how you can increase your likelihood of being
approved by the board. If you're not familiar with the Hauseit platform, we are
New York City's largest for sale by owner and buyer agent commission rebate
company. To learn more about ways to save money when buying and selling real
estate in New York check us out at www.hauseit.com, the spelling is below. So when
does a co-op board interview happen during the life cycle of a typical
purchase process? Fortunately the co-op board interview is
the final stage prior to being approved and hopefully closing on a co-op
apartment. What this means is that you will have already submitted your co-op
board application. Furthermore the board members themselves will have already
reviewed the application and generally speaking be okay with your candidacy.
Technically, being called for a co-op board interview means that you have been
conditionally approved for the purchase. The ultimate goal for the board
interview itself is just to make sure that you are similar to your application
and there's nothing wildly different about you in person as opposed to what
you've actually written about yourself or submitted as part of the application.
So a co-op interview is very different from a job interview. Keep in mind in a
job interview you are competing for the only job available. Therefore, you really
need to hit it out of the park when it comes to the quality of your answers,
the information you provide, how you dress everything matters because you are
swinging for the fences. When it comes to a co-op interview on the other hand the
objective again really is for the coop just to make sure that you're the same
person that they read about in the application. Therefore you don't need to
swing for the fences. There are no other candidates who are possibly going to
take away your apartment. Therefore the main tips when going to a co-op board
interview consist of the following. Answer questions in a concise and
succinct matter. You need to be honest when you answer
questions but you certainly should not belabor an answer or provide any
additional information that takes you off topic. However tempting it might be
to try to build additional rapport seemingly by adding more information to
your answers so again you want to be very transparent very direct and very
honest when answering questions. Furthermore if asked whether or not you
have any questions at the end of the interview this is something you should
absolutely say no to. In fact it's customary for there to be
no questions from the applicant at the end of a board interview. Some very easy
ways to automatically be rejected or by asking any of the following questions at
the end of the interview. When will I be approved? Who do I submit my renovation
plan to? Are you planning on doing any work to spruce up the lobby? When can I
move my grand piano into my living room? As you can see the co-op board interview
is largely a test of your ability to follow protocol and be humble in a
controlled environment for only 30 minutes or an hour. A board interview
itself can take place pretty much anywhere. In some cases it could take
place in the apartment of an individual owner. It could take place in a nearby
restaurant or a bar and in some cases it could take place in the lobby or even in
a room in the basement so it's very flexible as to where the interview is
going to take place as to who will be there it's usually multiple members of
the board but in some cases it could just be one individual and in the most
flexible buildings the interview itself could actually feel more like an
orientation as opposed to a grueling interview. They might just tell you a bit
about the building and how things work when you move in.
However comfortable you feel at the interview please resist the temptation
to ask when will you be approved or when can you move into the apartment. The
board interview is very simple. Just make sure that you're on time, that you are
aware of everything in your board application. Being invited to a board
interview is great news. It means that you've been conditionally approved and
the board members like what's in your application so just remember when you're
in that interview to be succinct with your answers, to be honest, don't
volunteer unnecessary extra information and resist the temptation to ask any
questions whatsoever at the end of the interview. You'll usually hear back as to
whether or not you've been approved anywhere from 24 hours after the
interview up to a week or perhaps even two weeks. Your buyer's agent and your
attorney will be the ones who will let you know if and when you've been
approved in the remote instance you're not approved your attorney will usually
receive a notice of rejection from the managing agent on behalf of the
cooperative board. Thanks for watching and if you like this content please do
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a comment if you have any questions. Thank you for watching!