If you are thinking of buying a Manhattan property,  the most important items you need to have when starting out are a pre approval and a financial statement. You want to have a pre approval or even better a pre commitment in place so that if you make an offer you can show the seller that you already have financing in place. In addition, for your own knowledge, the loan officer or mortgage broker will give you an idea of what your monthly payments will be. In some cases, you may be able to afford more than you want to spend monthly. So this will help to define your price range.

You can get an industry standard blank financial statement from your real estate broker. Having that filled in with a pre approval will give the seller a good idea of your qualifications. Going through the under-writing process can yield a pre commitment which will be only subject to finding a property and a satisfactory appraisal. So if you are really serious ask your lender about that option as well.