First Time Buyers

So, you’ve got a signed contract and have meticulously presented your personal and financial history to the co-op board in the form of your application. The next step can be incredibly nerve-wracking (though it doesn’t have to be) – the co-op board interview.

As expert NYC real estate agents, we’ve had countless clients go through the board interview process and have put together a few tips that can make the experience a bit easier. With these co-op board interview tips, you’ll be fully prepared to ace the co-op board interview and move into your new home in no time.

How to Pass Your Co-Op Board Interview

What is a co-op board interview?

The co-op board interview is the final step in obtaining approval from the co-op board to purchase an apartment in that building. 

Co-op board interviews are key to a successful closing on a cooperative apartment because the board wants to make sure you’re a good fit for the building. Their primary goal is to protect their building by assessing if you’re neighbor material or a bundle of red flags.

No two co-op board interviews are exactly alike. Some are formal conference room affairs and others are informal gatherings in one of the board member’s living rooms. Some provide the opportunity for the board to decide on your financial standing and personality, while others are scheduled to vet your personality following conditional approval of your financials.

For some sample co-op board interview questions, check out this article.

No matter the process or the setting, we’ve come up with a foolproof list of Do’s and Don’ts that will make your next co-op board interview a piece of cake.

During Your Co-op Board Interview, DO:

• Sanitize your social media presence – It’s almost a given that some (if not all) of the members of the co-op board will Google you before the board meeting. Which makes how you appear on social media and websites extremely important. 
  If you can, the easiest way to do so is to make your profiles private on every platform. If you can’t, manually review public posts, comments, and tagged photos or videos. Delete, privatize, edit, or untag yourself from anything offensive or polarizing on hot-button issues. 
• Dress for success – Regardless of how formal the interview is (or isn’t), you should present yourself carefully. Choose business casual attire. This dress code hits the sweet spot between looking like you care too much or like you don’t care enough. The board may not be in the same attire or be much more casually dressed than you are, but they’re already ‘in the club’. You still have to earn your spot.
• Do your research – Ask your broker for insight into the co-op board members. If they’ve transacted on an apartment in that building before, they may be able to provide you with useful information. Be very careful with this step, because it could be easy to be too familiar with the board and appear creepy.
• Plan out who will answer what questions – If you are purchasing the home with a partner or spouse, decide ahead of time who will speak on certain topics or answer certain questions. This will help you avoid talking over one another and ensure both of you get to speak an appropriate amount. Additionally, it reduces the amount of prep you each have to do!
• Be on time – This one seems simple but it is absolutely key. Co-op board members are people with busy lives and schedules just like you. They’ve taken the time out of their day to be there to speak with you – don’t waste a second of it.
• Stay present – While it may be exciting to be meeting some of your potential new neighbors, try not to get caught up in the excitement. This is still an interview, not a social call. Even if you are clicking really well with some of the board members, stay focused on the task at hand.  Keep your professional and polite demeanor up (at least until the interview is over and you close on your apartment).
• Be yourself – Co-op board interviews usually last 20-30 minutes, so they’re over before you know it. While we encourage you to keep your replies brief and on-topic, we also strongly encourage you to let your inner light shine! The co-op board wants to see who you are and what you’re about, so let them in a little. If you’re too nervous or closed off, it could impact the interview negatively.
• Thank the board – When the interview comes to an end, be sure to thank the co-op board members for their time. It’s the polite, professional, and considerate thing to do. Plus, it demonstrates courtesy and kindness- which are ideal neighborly qualities.

During Your Co-op Board Interview, DON’T:

• Come unprepared – While you don’t need to bring a copy of your application and financials to the interview, it is important to remind yourself of the contents of the package. It’s good to refresh your memory on the information contained in the personal and business reference letters you submitted, as the contents of these letters provide a more personal way to connect with you.
  Also, be prepared to talk about your money and your personal life. While it is usually taboo to get into these topics with complete strangers, in a co-op board interview, both lend valuable insight into the kind of neighbor you are. The board members don’t need to know your full life history, but answering their questions openly goes a long way.
• Be surprised if they ask for a pet interview – If you are bringing a furry friend into the apartment building, many co-op boards will require a pet interview. This is especially important if there are other animals on your floor, to ensure everyone in the building still has some peace and quiet. 
• Ask questions – Unlike a job interview, a co-op board interview is not an opportunity for you to determine if the building is a good fit for you. You’ve already done that, by making an offer and submitting an application to the board. This meeting is all about allowing them to get to know you and your partner or spouse, so it’s important to let them steer the conversation.
• Volunteer information – As a general rule, you want to answer the questions asked of you and nothing more. You’ve only got 20-30 minutes to make a good impression, so stay focused on what the co-op board members decide they need to know.
• Boast or sell yourself – Even if you are really proud of the massive commission you earned this year, don’t bring it up unprompted. If it does come up, perhaps in reference to your financials, stick to the facts of the situation. Being boastful isn’t a desirable trait to most people, so don’t exhibit it to the co-op board members if you can help it. 
• Talk too much – As we mentioned earlier, co-op board members are busy New Yorkers, just like you. Show them that you respect them and their time by answering their questions concisely and getting to your point quickly. You don’t want to accidentally talk yourself out of an acceptance.
• Mention renovation plans – Definitely don’t get into your renovation plans for the apartment unprompted. If a board member asks you point blank, it’s important to minimize or speak vaguely about your plans – even if you know you’re going to gut the home to the studs. Renovations are a hassle for your neighbors as well as yourself, after all.
• Expect an answer at the end of the interview – While in some cases you may get a verbal acceptance at the end of the interview, that is absolutely not the norm. They’ll let you know whether you were accepted or rejected in writing via the managing agent of the building, usually the following business day after the interview takes place.

Armed with these Do’s and Don’ts of co-op board interviews, you should be all set to gain acceptance and move into your new home! We hope you love it. And if you are interested in buying or selling property in NYC – we’re your team. Reach out here for more info or to get started!

New York City’s diverse and dynamic nature can be a double edged sword. We are surrounded by businesses, restaurants, and neighborhoods of all shapes and sizes, but there’s no doubt – New York City and its 8.85 million residents are LOUD. So, how do you find a quiet apartment in New York City?

In general, pre-war apartments tend to be quieter than their post-war or new construction counterparts. Before WWII, thicker walls, thicker floors, and wood doors were standard building practices. These go a long way towards reducing noise transfer from one unit to the next. 

While this newfound knowledge can help you narrow down your Manhattan apartment search a bit, our New York City real estate expertise has taught us a number of tricks to find a peaceful home in the city that never sleeps. In the rest of this post, we’ll share those tips with you and drill down on what makes pre-war apartments so desirable when it comes to a quiet apartment in New York City.

A Brief Pre-War Apartment History

Pre-War Era

To be crystal clear, the “war” in pre-war is WWII. In other words, ‘pre-war’ refers to the construction in the era between 1890ish and 1942. At the time, labor was inexpensive and plentiful, which contributed to the rapid growth that NYC saw in that time period.

Resources were in abundance, so it was standard to have thick masonry exterior walls and lath and plaster interior walls. Poured concrete floors were the norm, as were solid wood doors throughout these buildings. Elevator shafts were typically faced in thick masonry as well. 

Post-War Era

When the United States joined WWII, construction materials were diverted to military efforts and many laborers joined the fight. This meant that builders had to make do with what resources and workers they had. Walls and floors became thinner as corners were cut to successfully house people with the restrictions the war effort placed on civilians. 

By the time the war ended and soldiers returned home, building practices had shifted permanently. In other words, we entered the era of post-war construction. And the era of buildings without a quiet apartment in New York City.

New Construction

In the 1990s, pretty much all the boroughs underwent significant neighborhood revitalization thanks to efforts by the city and local government. Much like pre-war times, the city saw significant changes in a small period of time. We now refer to this era as ‘new construction’, a term that is typically applied to apartments built in 1990 or later.

What Makes a Pre-War Building Quieter?

Lath and Plaster Walls

Lath and plaster walls are responsible for a great deal of the soundproofing in pre-war apartments. And while it’s not commonplace anymore, lath and plaster was about as common in the pre-war era as drywall/sheetrock is today.

Lath and plaster walls are built by tacking 1×4” laths (narrow wooden boards) to the wall studs horizontally. Two rough layers of lime or gypsum plaster are applied over the laths to fill any gaps between the boards and create a smooth wall surface. Last, a smooth white plaster finish is applied, creating a wall surface that averages ⅝-¾” thick.

In contrast, modern drywall is typically only ½” thick, and it is directly tacked to the studs, rather than being backed by wooden laths. Drywall is much more porous and light compared to plaster, which is very dense. 

These differences mean that modern construction walls without soundproofing interventions are much more likely to let noise bleed through than lath and plaster walls, making lath and plaster the obvious choice for a quiet apartment in New York City.

Poured Concrete Floors

Pre-war floors were usually made by pouring a thick concrete slab, usually about 7” thick before the subfloor and wood flooring were added. Meanwhile, modern concrete and steel slabs can be as thin as 3”.

The floors are not only concrete, but they also encase solid steel beams which further strengthen the floors and dampen sound. In other words, the construction practices of pre-war floors make them inherently good at dissipating sound.

Solid Wood vs Hollow Core Doors

Before WWII, interior and exterior doors were commonly made of solid wood, which is quite good at dampening sound. In the post-war construction period however, hollow core wooden doors and later fiberglass or aluminum doors became popular. So modern apartments aren’t the best choice for a quiet apartment in New York City.

If you want to experience the difference between solid wood and hollow core doors yourself, check your front door – it’s much more likely to be solid wood than any other door in your home. Compare the sound that travels through a solid wood door against your interior doors and you’ll clearly notice that the thicker the door, the more sound isolation there is.

Exterior Masonry

Pre-war apartment buildings also relied on extremely thick masonry on exterior walls to regulate temperature and prevent moisture from getting inside, which had the unexpected benefit of also reducing street noise.

Just like interior walls, concrete floors, and doors, the post-war construction era lacked the materials and labor needed to build the massive stone walls found in the pre-war era, so exterior walls became thinner and more permeable to sound over time.

Experienced Broker’s Tips to Finding a Quiet Apartment in New York City

Here are our tips for finding a lovely, quiet apartment in New York City:

• Look for a higher floor apartment. The more distance you put between yourself and the various noises of the street, the quieter you can expect your new home to be.
• What does the apartment face? Street oriented apartments get all the traffic and siren noise, while apartments facing the rear of the building generally get much less of that bleeding through.
• Pay close attention to the surrounding buildings. Noise from neighborhood to neighborhood can greatly differ. Similarly, watch out for bars or nightclubs nearby. The quietest neighborhoods are usually filled with residential or office buildings.
• Check the Hush City App from the building your prospective apartment is in. Hush City is essentially Yelp for noise levels. Users can review any location’s acoustics and you can cross reference that in your apartment search. (This is not a sponsored post, we just find the app really useful!)
• Attend multiple open houses/showings of an apartment you’re considering (if possible). By viewing the apartment on different days and at different times of day, you’ll get a sense of what it’s really like living there. Try and get an evening viewing if you can, to see what it sounds like when you’re tired after a long day and want to wind down.
• Talk to potential future neighbors (with your real estate broker’s blessing). They’ll be able to give you an honest view into what living in the building is really like. Even if the apartment is in a pre-war building, if your upstairs neighbors ripped out all the walls for an open concept floorplan, their flooring is going to be much more flexible, which means you’ll hear more creaks and footfalls. Run this idea by your broker first, though. If your apartment is in a co-op building, chatting up the neighbors could potentially impact your future application to purchase. Always take the guidance of your real estate agent on this topic.
• Make note of what it sounds like when you tour an apartment. If the floors, doors, or walls are noisy in your apartment, your upstairs or next door neighbor’s apartments will probably be just as loud.
• Ask your real estate attorney to take a look at noise complaints filed with the board of the building. This is typically done during the due diligence period and is an easy way to get a clear picture of how the building sounds over time.

Finding a Quiet Apartment In New York City

While it may seem impossible to find yourself the soundproof apartment of your dreams, with our tricks and the insider knowledge of what type of apartment building to prioritize in your search, you’ll be sleeping easy in your new home before you know it.

If you buy on a high floor at the rear of a pre-war building in a mostly residential or office building filled neighborhood, you’ll likely be set to enjoy a relatively quiet existence in the city for years to come.

The members of the Gasdaska Conlon Team know that purchasing an apartment in New York City can be a daunting task. The Manhattan Real Estate Market moves fast and can be difficult to predict. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out if you or anyone in your household has any questions about the process, or if you are in the market to buy or sell an apartment but don’t know who to work with. We love to help where we can.

Check out our available listings here!

Buying Property in NYC From Start to Finish: How To Purchase A NYC Apartment

There are a few reasons NYC is different, one being that there is no public MLS. However, in the past few years, all the major brokerages started sharing listing information, which means you can see nearly all the properties available on any of the major brokerages’ websites. In this episode, we cover how to buy property in New York City from start to finish – everything from determining your wants and needs, to which neighborhoods to target, to what the board interview process is like.

Even before beginning your search for the perfect apartment, it’s important to determine your budget. NYC is expensive, so you’ll need to have a significant sum (no less than 10% of your target property’s purchase price) available for a down payment, plus closing costs and other fees. If you have that saved up, it’s time to find a broker!

Step 1: Find a Broker You Can Trust

• We covered this in-depth in Episode 17: What To Look For In A Great NYC Real Estate Broker
• This is a huge purchase – you should absolutely do your homework and make an educated choice about which broker you work with
• Experience is important – you want someone with a strong track record
• A good broker can help you find the right category of property and the right location because they have the experience to do so
• Finding the right broker will save you a LOT of time in your search since they have more experience and knowledge of the market and neighborhoods
• Knowledgable. Honest. Hardworking. This is what you should be looking for in a real estate broker

Step 2: Determine Your Budget and Choose Your Financial and Legal Team

• Your broker will often refer you to a mortgage banker to help determine your budget
• Down payments are generally 10% as a minimum, but you will need closing costs and funds for other fees above and beyond the down payment
• Consider working with a mortgage banker to figure out what your real purchasing power is – it might be less (or more!) than you anticipated
• You also need to find a great real estate transaction attorney – real estate brokers like our team can provide great referrals

Step 3: Choose Between Co-ops vs Condos

• We covered this extensively in Episode 5: What Are The Differences Between NYC Co-ops and Condos When Buying?
• Condos generally have great ease of transfer and ease of use, but they generally cost 15-30% more than co-ops
• Co-ops are a lot like buying in a country club since you are buying shares of a corporation, not an individual apartment
• Most of NYC’s apartments are co-ops, so if you decide you want to purchase a condo, you’ll be looking at a smaller pool of properties

Step 4: Determine Your Wants and Needs

• What are the things that you really want and the things that you really need? Being clear on this can really help streamline the purchasing process
• Write these down, and reference them often – this will help you stay focused on what you actually want and need
• These wants and needs often change over time and change as you go through the purchasing process

Step 5: Location

• Choosing a location or neighborhood is important to help narrow the search – we have tons of episodes diving deep into each
• It’s hard to truly know a neighborhood until you’ve lived there for a while, so lean on an expert broker to help you determine where you’d likely like to live

Step 6: Go See Properties

• Sometimes you have to see 5 properties, sometimes you have to see 100 – you won’t know the right one until you see it, and a good broker will stick with you no matter how many showings you need
• We generally show 5-10 properties in each session
• This is a huge purchase – it’s okay if you feel like you just need to see more properties in order to feel comfortable making an offer

Step 7: Make An Offer

•  This is where working with a really great broker can make a huge impact – if the offer is incomplete or poorly crafted, it bodes very badly for both the broker and the potential buyer, and can easily kill a deal
• Here’s the minimum of what you’ll need for a great offer:
  • 2 years of tax returns
  • Full financial statement
  • Bio for the buyer
  • Real estate attorney (name and address)
  • Pre-approval letter (if you are financing the transaction)
• Your broker should counsel you on the offer itself – it is in your broker’s best interest to get you a great price so you should trust them

Step 8: Accepted Offer

• Once the offer is accepted, the work transitions to the real estate attorneys
• The buyer’s and seller’s attorneys work together to draft a contract and bring it to the clients to approve
• 10% deposit gets sent to the seller’s escrow account (this is the first time that any money changes hands)
• The mortgage application and commitment letters happen after the appraisal and underwriting, and this generally happens 3-4 weeks after you go to contract

Step 9: The Board Application and Interview

• It’s best to get everything buttoned up on board applications and leave no room for questions
• This is one of the places that buying a condo is different than a co-op because condos have the right of first refusal
• Co-ops: If you get approved for an interview, you are likely to pass the board interview
• Board interviews are a lot like job interviews, and they generally last 20-30 minutes
• This is where our team shines – we write really great board applications
• Official board approvals generally happen the day after the board interview, but sometimes it can take a few days

Step 10: Setting Up The Closing and Closing the Transaction

• Once you have the official approval from the board, the attorneys get involved again to set up the closing, and it usually happens at the managing agent’s office
• You need a clearance to close from the bank before setting up the closing
• There are a lot of people involved at this stage:
  1. The buyer
  2. The seller
  3. The buyer’s attorney
  4. The seller’s attorney
  5. The mortgage banker
  6. The payoff bank
  7. The managing agent

Step 11: Final Walk-Through

• The apartment should be in a very similar condition to when the offer was made
• Holes in the walls (smaller than a dime) remain, but large holes need to be fixed
• We test various things like checking the appliances, opening the windows, etc.
• This generally happens a few hours before the closing
• Finally, after lots of paperwork, you’ll get your keys!

Congratulations! Now you know how to purchase an NYC apartment – the next step is to reach out to an expert broker that can help you find the property of your dreams. Great brokers can help you navigate the often confusing and frustrating ins and outs that come with owning your own piece of NYC.