Sample Co-op Board Interview Questions

Most board interviews are shorter and more cordial than buyers expect — and a short interview is usually a good one. The board has already reviewed your package; the room is testing whether you'll be a responsible, neighborly shareholder, not re-underwriting your finances. The questions below are drawn from years of preparing Manhattan board packages: some are substantive, some are small talk, and a few are deliberately provocative. Knowing the range in advance is most of the preparation.

Two framing notes before the list. First, if the board asks something you already answered in the package, take a breath and repeat your answer — the member may not have read it, or may be checking that your answers are consistent. Second, some interviewers will ask a pointed or even impertinent question to see how you react. They are not trying to put you on the defensive; they're checking for composure. Stay calm, answer plainly, and move on. If you don't know an answer, say you're not sure and that you'll follow up — that lands better than improvising.

Finances — general

1. How much did you make last year? The year before?
2. How much will you make this year? Next year?
3. How long have you been employed in your profession?
4. How much of last year's income was salary versus bonus? What is your current salary and anticipated bonus?
5. How stable is your position? Your profession?
6. If there were a large assessment, would you be willing and able to pay your share?

Work and career

1. Tell us about your business and its history.
2. What do you see as the market and future growth of your profession?
3. What are your prospects for the future?
4. What is your main source of income?
5. Tell us about your projected income.

If the building doesn't allow pieds-à-terre, be prepared to make the board comfortable — clearly and without hedging — that the apartment will be your primary residence.

Personal and lifestyle

1. Do you entertain frequently? What kind of gatherings do you host?
2. We like shareholders to contribute to the building. Are you willing to do that?
3. Do you have a dog or cat? Are you planning to get one?
4. Where are you from? (And the other ordinary conversational questions.)
5. Why did you choose this apartment? This building?
6. Do you play a musical instrument?

Renovations and alterations

1. Are you planning to do work in the apartment? What kind?
2. Do you know the building's renovation process — licensed and insured contractors, an alteration agreement, board approval?
3. Are you aware that plans may require an architect's or engineer's drawings?

If you are planning work, keep your answer short and procedural: yes, scope known, and you'll follow the building's alteration process. The interview is not the venue for design ambitions.

House rules and community

1. Will you be able to help in co-op matters? (The right answer is yes, time permitting — this is a major investment and boards notice indifference.)
2. Do you know that most of the floors must be carpeted or covered? (A standard house-rules provision, typically 60–80% coverage.)

What not to ask

Don't ask the board questions at the interview. Anything about the building — finances, assessments, planned work, staffing — should be answered beforehand through the managing agent, your agent, or your attorney. Expressing genuine enthusiasm for the building and the apartment is welcome; opening a discussion about a building issue, however benign it seems, rarely ends anywhere useful.

Companion pages: quick tips for the interview itself · the full interview prep guide · the co-op board package playbook.