Quick Tips for Passing a Co-op Board Interview

The board interview is the last gate in the co-op approval process, and the invitation itself is a good sign: in most buildings it means your finances and references have already checked out. What follows is the single-page reference we hand our buyers the week of the interview — the conduct that gets people approved, distilled. For the fuller treatment of what the interview is actually testing for, see the board interview prep guide; for the questions themselves, see sample board interview questions.

The quick tips

• Receiving an invite is a good sign. The interview is the board's opportunity to meet you and discuss your application in greater detail. The style ranges from an informal gathering in a member's apartment to a formal panel with you in the hot seat — be ready for either.

• Dress appropriately and be prompt. Treat a board interview like a business interview, because that is what it is.

• Know your application cold. Without looking at a page, you should be able to answer any question about your own package quickly and accurately — income, assets, financing, and anything you disclosed.

• Do not try to sell yourself. Unlike a job interview, the winning posture is responsive, not persuasive. Answer the questions asked and let the board members take the lead. Boards rarely turn down an applicant for being too boring.

• Prepare for a lack of privacy. The board has wide latitude in what it can ask. Answer personal questions directly, and don't signal that you find them intrusive — bristling reads worse than any answer.

• Never volunteer extra information. Stick to cordial remarks and direct answers. An unprompted detail is how a routine interview becomes a long one.

• Don't ask the board questions. A question as innocent as "any plans to renovate the lobby?" can land on the member who ran the last renovation. Every building question you have should be answered before the interview — through your agent, the managing agent, or your attorney.

• Couples: decide in advance who answers what. For example, one of you takes the financial questions and the other takes everything else. Never confer in front of the board.

• Don't expect an answer in the room. Most boards deliberate and come back in a day or two. Your agent and your attorney will confirm the approval.

The one-sentence version

Be punctual, be warm, be brief, answer what's asked, and save every question and concern for your own team.

Part of the co-op board package playbook. Roebling buyers get building-specific interview prep — the board's culture, its cadence, and a rehearsal — as part of package preparation.