Expert Buildium Bookkeeping Services For Scaling Property Investors & Managers In New York City
New York City property managers often run co-op and condo associations alongside stabilized rental units in the same portfolio, sometimes the same building. Buildium was built for exactly that overlap: rental and association management inside one instance. That convenience becomes a liability the moment reserve contributions, operating assessments, and rental trust deposits sit in a general ledger that doesn't separate them by default. Our team sets up the segregation NYC's mixed portfolios require before Buildium's simplicity turns into a compliance gap.
We work with accountant access inside your own Buildium instance, exactly as you would grant an internal hire.
New York rules that apply here
- Deposit return deadline
- 14 days
- Statute
- GOL 7-103
Why Buildium Operators in New York City Come to REA
Residential and association management in one system
Fund segregation across building types
Many NYC portfolios pair rent-stabilized rental buildings with co-op or condo associations in the same Buildium instance. Buildium's general ledger doesn't separate association reserve funds from rental trust deposits by default. We build distinct account trees and bank sub-accounts for each fund type before posting begins, so reserve contributions never commingle with a tenant's security deposit.
DHCR-ready rent roll reporting
DHCR oversight means every rent-stabilized unit carries a legal registered rent history that has to reconcile against actual collections. Buildium's reporting is built for straightforward residential ledgers, not DHCR rent registration schedules, so it won't flag a registered rent that drifts from what's actually billed. We build the reconciliation reports our NYC clients need to stay audit-ready across boroughs.
Reporting sized for mixed portfolios
A management company running a Queens co-op board and a Bronx rental portfolio out of one Buildium account needs two statement sets: reserve summaries for the board, net income for the owner. Buildium's reporting is simple enough for a small NYC team to run both without a dedicated accounting department, once templates are set up correctly for each audience.
Buildium and New York Deposit Rules
GOL 7-103
New York General Obligations Law 7-103 requires a landlord to return a security deposit or send an itemized statement within 14 days of move-out. Buildium holds deposits in a trust ledger and reconciles the bank balance, but it has no built-in 14-day countdown or automatic itemized statement trigger tied to a move-out date. In a market with this much rental stock, that gap between digital record and legal deadline gets tracked manually, which is where our team steps in.
New York General Obligations Law section 7-103 requires the deposit, and an itemized statement of any deductions, within 14 days of the tenant vacating. Deposits must sit in a separate interest-bearing account located in New York State, used exclusively for tenant deposits. Missing the deadline forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit.
All New York requirementsHow we keep you inside it
- Deposit liabilities tracked per tenant in Buildium, so a 14 days deadline is answerable from the ledger
- Trust accounts reconciled three ways every month
- Deduction documentation recorded against the correct ledger
- Aging deposits flagged before the statutory window closes
Buildium Accounting & Bookkeeping Services
For New York City Portfolios
- Process Review & Set Up
- Bank Reconciliations
- AP / AR
- Accurate NOI, Balance Sheets
- Recording HUD's & Accruals
- Owner Distributions
- Monthly Statements & Reports
- Management Fees
- Corporate Bookkeeping
- Tenant Chargebacks
Take the Whole Close, or One Function
New York City operators use REA for the full monthly close or for the single function that has become a bottleneck. Each one is performed inside your Buildium instance.
Trust Accounting
Compliant, audit-ready trust funds
Learn moreBank Reconciliation Services
Three-way reconciliation, every account
Learn moreAccounts Payable & Receivable
Bills paid, rent collected, owners paid
Learn moreBookkeeping Cleanup & Catch-Up
Back books fixed and current
Learn moreCAM Reconciliation
Annual commercial true-ups
Learn moreOn a Different Platform in New York City?
We Work Inside All of Them
Experts In All Property Types
- Single-Family
- Multifamily
- Student Housing
- Affordable Housing
- Community Associations
- Commercial
Experts In All Property Types
Residential, commercial and everything in between. The asset class changes what the books have to prove, and our teams are staffed accordingly.
- Single-Family
- Multifamily
- Student Housing
- Affordable Housing
- Community AssociationsSee the page
- CommercialSee the page
Check Out What Our Clients Have To Say About Us
Property Managers, Investors & Owner Operators
As REA exclusively specializes in Real Estate, I rest easy knowing my financials are precise every month while saving money at the same time, an invaluable benefit.
I highly recommend Real Estate Accounting (REA) services from this group. They truly are great and have helped us tremendously at a time we needed it the most. I felt very comfortable giving up all my accounting responsibilities to this team and I'm still glad I made the decision to work with this group. Nothing less than an amazing experience!
REA and team have been nothing but excellent helping our firm with its day to day financial needs. Their expertise, professionalism, and timeliness have made our lives so much easier. We foresee a long relationship with REA and team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Buildium track the 14-day security deposit deadline for NYC rentals?
Not automatically. New York General Obligations Law 7-103 gives landlords 14 days from move-out to return a deposit or send an itemized statement, but Buildium's trust ledger doesn't calendar that deadline against a specific move-out date. We set up a move-out tracker outside the software's default workflow so every NYC unit gets flagged before day 14, not after a tenant complaint arrives.
Can Buildium keep our co-op association funds separate from rental trust accounts?
Buildium allows multiple bank accounts and property-level GL segmentation, but it won't wall off association reserve funds from rental trust money on its own, that separation has to be built into the chart of accounts and bank mapping. We set up dedicated account trees per fund type at onboarding, so a Manhattan co-op's reserve balance and a rental client's trust deposits never touch the same ledger line.
Do you handle both rent-stabilized rentals and co-op or condo boards in one Buildium setup?
Yes. Across the five boroughs we work with property managers whose portfolios mix rent-stabilized rental buildings, co-ops, and condo associations, often within the same Buildium account. We build separate reporting and reconciliation workflows for each building type inside that one instance, so DHCR-facing rent records and board-facing reserve statements each get the treatment they need without duplicate software.
More in New York
Other New York markets, the platforms we work in, and the functions available on their own.
Buildium Bookkeeping for New York City
Schedule a call and we will review your Buildium setup, your New York deposit handling, and what it takes to close clean every month.