Coop interview - Asking more details

What neighborhood is this in?
What price point?

If you want the apartment, and especially if you have the additional cash available, give it a try.

I would read this as a signal they may be willing to work with you (whether out of a sense of duty to the seller, who is their current shareholder, or just being open-minded). If they were uninterested in finding a path to approval, it would have just been a rejection at the paperwork stage, no interview. That's not to say an approval is guaranteed by any means, but try to look at it optimistically.

Holy moly, 8 years' worth of income history is a lot --(I just don't see how, in a world where part of your comp is bonus-based, what you made even six years ago means anything) -- but it's also probably not that hard to reconstruct. If they laid out the path to showing greater financial strength at the interivew, then they like you -- so it's up to you now whether you want to jump through the hoops or not.

If you do want to proceed, I would say thank you "we appreciate have been given the chance to demonstrate our financial strength -- here's the information that you requested -- we want to reiterate how excited we are about this building" (or something along those lines)

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Putting aside front_porch's idolatry of Moly, her friendly approach is going to work out better for you than that of some ancient (30+20 = nearly 50 years) rock band groupie. http://streeteasy.com/talk/discussion/41160-coop-approval

why on earth are they so strict? is this an ultra famous building or something? I just don't get it !

I don't think they are being strict to reject you - if they were, they would likely flat out reject you vs. continuing down this path. They are probably trying to find a way to justify against their internal metrics why you are a fit.

No board wants to take on someone who may be a burden later by not paying. That can be a real problem both in lost money and actual costs to sue a delinquent tenant. Since bonuses are not guaranteed, for them to make an exception, they likely want to see if your bonus is a regular trend or out of the ordinary high amount to better get a sense of your financial picture and what to expect in the future. The extra 5% down payment is surprising because it is not all that much, but I also don't know what you were proposing to put down or if the building has some special amount that is traditionally used.