REBNY Financial Statement Calculator
Before making an offer on an NYC home or preparing a board package for a condo or co-op, it’s crucial to ensure that your financial situation is solid. Typically, a REBNY financial statement is required to achieve this, which needs to be submitted with your offer or board package. Sellers and real estate agents use this form to confirm your financial capacity to make the offer, pass the board, and complete the deal for a Condo or Co-op resale. Alternatively, you may use the Submit Offer Form while making an offer.
How to Use our Calculator + PDF Form Filler
Use the fields below to enter your assets, annual liabilities, monthly income, and projected expenses – if purchasing jointly, please also use fields for the co-applicant. Once all your information is entered, our calculator will estimate your total amounts, quickly populate the financial statement form, and generate a PDF via email or download you can attach with an offer or provide to your real estate agent.
PRIVACY NOTICE: ELIKA Real Estate does not collect, store or sell your data. Also, entry fields for your name, address, and bank account numbers are not required. Alternatively, you can enter this information once you download or receive the statement via email. Privacy Policy
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Table of Contents
What is a REBNY Financial Statement?
Don’t let the official-sounding name scare you off, REBNY financial statements are pretty straightforward. It’s essentially a balance sheet, no more than two pages long that acts as the industry standard for assessing a person’s income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. Every licensed real estate agent and broker in NYC can provide a copy of it through the Real Estate Board of New York.
For sellers, knowing how to read and evaluate a buyer’s REBNY financial statement will be crucial for deciding on whether to accept an offer, particularly when it comes to co-op sales. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about what goes into this vital document and how you can prepare one.
Like any good balance sheet, the REBNY financial statement is divided into multiple sections: assets, liabilities, monthly income, and projected monthly expenses. Each section is divided into two columns for the applicant and co-applicant. The buyer’s spouse usually fills out the latter when making a joint purchase.
While condo transactions sometimes require the buyer to submit a REBNY financial statement, they’re more often seen in co-op transactions. Each co-op board will have its requirements on this. The co-op board must be 100% confident that a potential buyer has enough financial liquidity to cover their maintenance charges and mortgage-associated expenses post-closing. An experienced buyer’s agent will make sure to clue their client in on these requirements before proceeding with a transaction that might not be a good fit for them.
Failing to meet a co-op board’s financial requirements will result in your board package being rejected. This happens quite a lot in NYC, so it’s better to be prepared ahead of time by completing your REBNY financial statement in full.
How to Fill Out the REBNY Statement
Desirable properties tend to sell pretty quickly in NYC. When you begin your home search, ask your agent for a REBNY financial statement that you can fill out. Having all your financial documents in order before searching can ensure competing buyers don’t outmaneuver you.
Below is a breakdown of each section in the REBNY financial statement and how you can complete it:
Assets
This is the first section. Carefully itemize and list out all your liquid and non-liquid assets. When the seller’s listing agent reviews this section, the key thing they’ll be looking for is to ensure you have enough liquid assets to cover the down payment, closing costs, and post-closing liquidity. Remember, each co-op board will have requirements for post-closing liquidity that a shareholder (purchaser) will need after the closing. Most co-op boards want to see 1-3 years’ worth to cover their maintenance fees and other recurring expenses.
Liabilities
You must itemize all your outstanding debts and corresponding monthly servicing payments for liabilities. This includes things such as:
- Mortgage payments
- Real estate taxes
- Credit card payments
- Any other loans owed to banks or others
Don’t try to hide anything here, as the building’s board will find out when they run a credit check.
Monthly Income
Carefully list all your sources of income, such as base salary, bonuses, dividend income, real estate income, and anything else like side-business income. If your income varies yearly, you must seek clarification from the building’s board on how this will impact your application. Some boards use a two-year average when calculating a buyer’s debt-to-income ratio (DTI).
Your DTI will be the crucial information the board will look at in this section. Most co-op boards look for a DTI of 30% or less when considering an application. However, it’s not unheard of for some boards to require a maximum DTI of 25% or even 20% in extreme cases.
Projected Monthly Expenses
This section must list all your monthly maintenance and mortgage costs for purchasing the apartment. Also included are other recurring monthly payments such as student loans, car payments, and other debts. Since your projected monthly housing expenses can change depending on which unit you are bidding on, it’s helpful to have your agent update this section as needed.
Itemized Schedules
Page two of your financial statement is where you will list additional information about your assets, liabilities, and other income that you stated on page one. For example, let’s say you have cash savings in multiple banks; you would need to list each bank and how much you have deposited in them. You must state the estimated fair market value, outstanding loan payments, maturity date, carrying costs, and rental income for real estate holdings. As for stocks and bonds, you must list the number of shares held, their description, and market value.
Do your best to depict values accurately. This can be more difficult with non-liquid assets, primarily when investing in a private company. Retirement funds are relatively straightforward since co-ops don’t consider their liquid assets.
How to Review as a Seller
For sellers who are reviewing a potential buyer’s REBNY financial statement, there are only really three things you need to focus on:
- Debt-to-Income Ratio – Is the buyer’s DTI within the requirements of your co-op?
- Income – Is there any unpredictability in it that would be a cause for concern?
- Liquid Net Worth – Do they have enough liquid assets to cover the entire transaction and still have enough left over to meet post-closing liquidity requirements?
It’s well worth always taking the time to assess each buyer’s financial qualifications. Doing so will minimize the chances of a board rejection that will send you back to square one.
Final Thoughts
It’s understandable if you are hesitant to share all the personal information required when filling out a REBNY financial statement. Either way, it’s not something you can avoid when purchasing an NYC co-op. Even condo sales are starting to require them more often.
Sellers (and co-op boards) like to see well-prepared buyers and know the game’s rules. Submitting a fully completed REBNY financial statement as part of your initial offer is a great way to grab their attention and get the ball rolling. Instead of letting it discourage you, view it as a way to prove your financial qualifications right from the start.
Financial Statement Sample Template
Download the REBNY financial statement PDF and start planning for your purchase.