NYC Condo & Co-op Board Package Instructions for Agents

Congratulations on your client going into contract on a condo or co-op apartment in NYC! At this stage, it’s very important for you to set clear expectations with your client on the overall process and timing for preparing and submitting the board package.

Follow the steps below to initiate the condo and co-op board package process.

Set Expectations With the Purchaser

Take Care of Seller Signature Pages

Reconfirm Application Fees and Payment Procedure

Reconfirm the Board Package Submission Procedure

Provide Regular Updates to the Seller

Set Expectations With the Purchaser

If you’re the buyer’s agent or the listing agent (and working with an unrepresented buyer) and the board package process is not electronic/online, we recommend sending the following via email to the purchaser the moment the contract is fully executed:

Congratulations on going into contract! If you’re financing, the next step is to submit an application with your mortgage lender. As part of this process, please provide your banker with the contact details of the listing agent in order to most efficiently coordinate the appraisal:

[Listing Agent Name, Cell & Email]

At this time, you should also begin working on the board package (also known as the purchase application). The list of requirements is attached.

While we typically cannot submit the package until your lender issues a mortgage commitment letter, it’s very important to begin assembling all other requisite documents immediately. This is because most purchase contracts require the purchaser to submit the package within 3 to 5 business days of receipt of a commitment letter.

We will assemble, review and submit the package on your behalf. To facilitate this, please create a cloud storage folder and share it with us. Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, etc. are all fine. Please upload the various documents to this cloud storage folder as you receive them.

Do not wait until you have everything to start uploading. Uploading documents as they’re received will allow us to begin assembling the package immediately.

Ideally, we’d like to have the entire package ready with the exception of the commitment letter within the next week. This way, upon issuance of the commitment letter, we can quickly slot it into the package and submit everything to building management.

Please note that the board package has several fees you’re required to pay. We are checking with management to confirm which payment methods they accept. Once we hear back, we will let you know. If management accepts electronic payment, please obtain proof of payment and upload this to the cloud storage folder so that we may include it in the board package. If management requires certified checks, please make a copy of the checks and upload this to the cloud storage folder.

Finally, with respect to the Financial Statement section of the application, please ensure that the subtotals are derived from the exact balances on your most recent bank/brokerage statements. Informal balances from online banking, etc. are not acceptable. Be sure to list the amount of your contract deposit in the ‘Contract Deposit’ section of the financial statement. Please also upload a copy of the deposit check (accessible via online banking) or the wire transfer confirmation and upload this to the cloud storage folder.

Please note that the board expects you to use the most recent statements when completing your financial statement. Therefore, we recommend completing this section around the time you expect to receive the commitment letter. If you complete the financial statement prematurely, your bank may issue new statements before we’re able to submit the package. This will require you to revise all figures on your financial statement using the balances from the updated statements, essentially creating double work for you.

Additionally, when completing the financial statement, please also complete the attached supplementary financial statement reconciliation spreadsheet. This extra item makes it much easier for us to audit your financials, and it also makes it easier for board members to vet your financials (thereby increasing the chances of board approval).

Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

If, on the other hand, the board package submission process is online (i.e. boardpackager.com), we recommend sending the message below to the purchaser. Please note that in the case of an online submission form, you or the other agent on the deal will need to setup / initiate the online board package.

Congratulations on going into contract! If you’re financing, the next step is to submit an application with your mortgage lender. As part of this process, please provide your banker with the contact details of the listing agent in order to most efficiently coordinate the appraisal:

[Listing Agent Name, Cell & Email]

At this time, you should also begin working on the board package (also known as the purchase application). The list of requirement documents is attached.

While we typically cannot submit the package until your lender issues a mortgage commitment letter, it’s very important to begin assembling all other requisite documents immediately. This is because most purchase contracts require the purchaser to submit the package within 3 to 5 business days of receipt of a commitment letter.

The board package for your building is submitted electronically. You will shortly receive an email inviting you to access the board package portal. Each of the requirement documents must be uploaded through the portal.

For reference letters and the financial statement specifically, please share these with us via email or a cloud storage link for review prior to uploading to the portal so that we may review. For the more straightforward items, such as bank statements, tax returns, signature pages, etc., please feel free to begin uploading these items immediately. Please make sure to sign anything which requires a signature: i.e. tax returns, etc.

Ideally, we’d like to have the entire package ready with the exception of the commitment letter within the next week. This way, upon issuance of the commitment letter, you can upload this to the portal and submit the application right away.

Please note that the board package has several fees you’re required to pay. These fees are typically paid through the board package portal. Please pay these fees as soon as possible.

Finally, with respect to the Financial Statement section of the application, please ensure that the subtotals are derived from the exact balances on your most recent bank/brokerage statements. Informal balances from online banking, etc. are not acceptable. Be sure to list the amount of your contract deposit in the ‘Contract Deposit’ section of the financial statement. Please also upload a copy of the deposit check (accessible via online banking) or the wire transfer confirmation and upload this as part of the financial statement section.

Please note that the board expects you to use the most recent statements when completing your financial statement. Therefore, we recommend completing this section around the time you expect to receive the commitment letter. If you complete the financial statement prematurely, your bank may issue new statements before we’re able to submit the package. This will require you to revise all figures on your financial statement using the balances from the updated statements, essentially creating double work for you.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

Take Care of Seller Signature Pages

If you’re the listing agent, please review the board package instructions and check whether or not the seller is required to sign anything. If so, please send these pages to your seller for e-signature as soon as possible.

If the purchaser has a buyer’s agent, please send the signed seller signature pages to this agent (who will be assembling and submitting the package).

There is no reason why this shouldn’t be taken care of within 48 hours of the contract being signed. Do not leave this to the last minute under any circumstances.

If you’re the buyer’s agent, we recommend immediately alerting the listing agent to the pages which require the seller’s signature. Some listing agents can be quite laid back (and in some cases, downright lazy), so please do not assume that the listing agent will be on top of this.

Reconfirm Application Fees and Payment Procedure

Both the buyer and seller are typically responsible for paying certain fees at the time the application is submitted. The fee amounts and who is responsible for them are typically outlined in the board package instructions.

Please note however that these instructions (and specifically the payment methods) are often outdated.

For example, the application may state certified checks only when in reality building management might accept credit cards.

Therefore, you must email the transfer agent at the managing agent and ask her/him to reconfirm the following:

Fee Amounts
Who Pays Them
To Whom Each Fee is Payable
Accepted Payment Methods

Get this information in writing so there is no confusion. Once you receive this information, share it with buyer/seller and instruct them to pay the fees immediately. Follow-up with buyer/seller regularly until fees have been paid. Once fees are paid, ask buyer/seller to provide payment confirmation (this will be submitted as part of the board application).

The contact information of the transfer agent is typically listed in the purchase application instructions. If you don’t see it there, ask the seller (or listing agent) to help out.

If the board package is electronic, the procedure for paying fees is much simpler, as the buyer and seller (if applicable) can typically pay via the board package portal.

Reconfirm the Board Package Submission Procedure

Board package instructions are often outdated, and in particular due to COVID, in many cases the submission procedures have changed completely. For example, hard copies might not be permitted at all. Never assume that the submission instructions in the application are accurate.

For example, many management companies now accept email submission due to COVID, so it would be a huge waste of time to print several hard copies (which could amount to thousands of pages) and manually submit based on outdated instructions in the application, when we could simply have asked them if email submission is okay?

Please email the transfer agent and ask them to reconfirm:

Submission Procedure (Physical, Electronic, etc.)
Number of Copies (If Hard Copies Required)
Social Security Numbers: Do they need to be redacted?
Original Aztech Recognition Agreements: What is the submission procedure?

Get this information in writing so there is no confusion. In our opinion, a phone call is inadequate because there is no proof or reference to back up what the transfer agent may or may not have told you.

Specific to the Aztech Recognition Agreements (co-ops only), hard copies are always required even if management accepts digital board package submission.

Typically, the Aztechs will need to be mailed to management, or in some cases, mailed directly to the co-ops attorney.

Once your buyer signs a contract on a condo or co-op in NYC, it’s important to set expectations on both the process and timing for preparing the board package.

Management may want the buyer to mail them immediately, or management might ask the buyer to wait on sending until board approval is received.

Either way, please obtain specific, written guidance from management and share this with the buyer (or buyer’s agent, if applicable). Please note that there is no margin for error in forgetting to deal with the Aztechs. We’ve actually witnessed closing being cancelled and delayed because agents (and management) dropped the ball and forgot to arrange for delivery of the original Aztechs. This is not a situation you want to be in, as you will naturally bear most of the blame as the broker, and it will all but guarantee that your client won’t give you a good review.

The contact information of the transfer agent is typically listed in the purchase application instructions. If you don’t see it there, ask the seller (or listing agent) to help out.

Provide Regular Updates to the Seller

If you’re the listing agent, keep your seller informed as to progress on the board package. If your seller emails you to check-in, this means we haven’t done a good job of keeping them updated.

If you’re the buyer’s agent, be sure to set expectations as to how long it will take for the board to review the application once it’s submitted.

This typically takes 20-30 days for a condo and 30-45 days for a co-op.

You should also remind them that before the package makes it to the board, management typically takes up to a week to review the package.

Setting expectations and communicating consistently are crucial in ensuring that your client has a positive experience. Ultimately, closing the deal is not the sole determinant of your performance. Your client must actually be happy with the experience and your performance in order for us to consider this as a ‘job well done.’

Congratulations on your client going into contract on a condo or co-op apartment in NYC! At this stage, it’s very important for you to set clear expectations with your client on the overall process and timing for preparing and submitting the board package.

Follow the steps below to initiate the condo and co-op board package process.

Table of Contents

If you’re the buyer’s agent or the listing agent (and working with an unrepresented buyer) and the board package process is not electronic/online, we recommend sending the following via email to the purchaser the moment the contract is fully executed:

Congratulations on going into contract! If you’re financing, the next step is to submit an application with your mortgage lender. As part of this process, please provide your banker with the contact details of the listing agent in order to most efficiently coordinate the appraisal:

[Listing Agent Name, Cell & Email]

At this time, you should also begin working on the board package (also known as the purchase application). The list of requirements is attached.

We will assemble, review and submit the package on your behalf. To facilitate this, please create a cloud storage folder and share it with us. Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, etc. are all fine. Please upload the various documents to this cloud storage folder as you receive them.

Do not wait until you have everything to start uploading. Uploading documents as they’re received will allow us to begin assembling the package immediately.

Ideally, we’d like to have the entire package ready with the exception of the commitment letter within the next week. This way, upon issuance of the commitment letter, we can quickly slot it into the package and submit everything to building management.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

Congratulations on going into contract! If you’re financing, the next step is to submit an application with your mortgage lender. As part of this process, please provide your banker with the contact details of the listing agent in order to most efficiently coordinate the appraisal:

[Listing Agent Name, Cell & Email]

At this time, you should also begin working on the board package (also known as the purchase application). The list of requirement documents is attached.

The board package for your building is submitted electronically. You will shortly receive an email inviting you to access the board package portal. Each of the requirement documents must be uploaded through the portal.

Ideally, we’d like to have the entire package ready with the exception of the commitment letter within the next week. This way, upon issuance of the commitment letter, you can upload this to the portal and submit the application right away.

Please note that the board package has several fees you’re required to pay. These fees are typically paid through the board package portal. Please pay these fees as soon as possible.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

If you’re the listing agent, please review the board package instructions and check whether or not the seller is required to sign anything. If so, please send these pages to your seller for e-signature as soon as possible.

If the purchaser has a buyer’s agent, please send the signed seller signature pages to this agent (who will be assembling and submitting the package).

There is no reason why this shouldn’t be taken care of within 48 hours of the contract being signed. Do not leave this to the last minute under any circumstances.

If you’re the buyer’s agent, we recommend immediately alerting the listing agent to the pages which require the seller’s signature. Some listing agents can be quite laid back (and in some cases, downright lazy), so please do not assume that the listing agent will be on top of this.

Both the buyer and seller are typically responsible for paying certain fees at the time the application is submitted. The fee amounts and who is responsible for them are typically outlined in the board package instructions.

Please note however that these instructions (and specifically the payment methods) are often outdated.

For example, the application may state certified checks only when in reality building management might accept credit cards.

Therefore, you must email the transfer agent at the managing agent and ask her/him to reconfirm the following:

Fee Amounts

Who Pays Them

To Whom Each Fee is Payable

Accepted Payment Methods

The contact information of the transfer agent is typically listed in the purchase application instructions. If you don’t see it there, ask the seller (or listing agent) to help out.

If the board package is electronic, the procedure for paying fees is much simpler, as the buyer and seller (if applicable) can typically pay via the board package portal.

Board package instructions are often outdated, and in particular due to COVID, in many cases the submission procedures have changed completely. For example, hard copies might not be permitted at all. Never assume that the submission instructions in the application are accurate.

Please email the transfer agent and ask them to reconfirm:

Submission Procedure (Physical, Electronic, etc.)

Number of Copies (If Hard Copies Required)

Social Security Numbers: Do they need to be redacted?

Original Aztech Recognition Agreements: What is the submission procedure?

Get this information in writing so there is no confusion. In our opinion, a phone call is inadequate because there is no proof or reference to back up what the transfer agent may or may not have told you.

Specific to the Aztech Recognition Agreements (co-ops only), hard copies are always required even if management accepts digital board package submission.

Typically, the Aztechs will need to be mailed to management, or in some cases, mailed directly to the co-ops attorney.

Management may want the buyer to mail them immediately, or management might ask the buyer to wait on sending until board approval is received.

The contact information of the transfer agent is typically listed in the purchase application instructions. If you don’t see it there, ask the seller (or listing agent) to help out.

If you’re the listing agent, keep your seller informed as to progress on the board package. If your seller emails you to check-in, this means we haven’t done a good job of keeping them updated.

If you’re the buyer’s agent, be sure to set expectations as to how long it will take for the board to review the application once it’s submitted.

This typically takes 20-30 days for a condo and 30-45 days for a co-op.

You should also remind them that before the package makes it to the board, management typically takes up to a week to review the package.

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