New York Real Estate Without the Drama

Technically no — there is no statute requiring buyer's counsel. Practically, yes. Every co-op and condo board, every lender, every title company, and every seller will expect you to have counsel. The contract is drafted by seller's attorney and is written entirely for the seller until your counsel negotiates the rider. Going without counsel on a six- or seven-figure transaction is a false economy.

The board package is the application a prospective co-op buyer submits to the cooperative's board of directors before purchase. It typically includes a personal financial statement, two to three years of tax returns and W-2s, employment verification, two to four reference letters (personal and professional), the executed contract of sale, the mortgage commitment letter, the buyer's background acknowledgment, and the board interview that follows submission. Co-op boards have substantial discretion to approve or deny without giving reasons (subject only to fair housing law).

Sixty to ninety days from signed contract to closing is typical for financed residential transactions. The pacing is driven by the mortgage commitment date (usually thirty to forty-five days after contract), the title and survey work, and — for co-ops — the board package, interview, and approval letter. Cash deals can close in three to four weeks. Commercial transactions often run ninety to one hundred eighty days because of the diligence and lender involvement.

The mansion tax is a New York State transfer tax imposed on residential real estate sold for $1 million or more. It is the buyer's obligation by default (the contract can shift it). For NYC properties, the tax is graduated: 1% from $1M to $2M, 1.25% from $2M to $3M, 1.5% from $3M to $5M, 2.25% from $5M to $10M, 3.25% from $10M to $15M, 3.5% from $15M to $20M, 3.75% from $20M to $25M, and 3.9% over $25M. The tax is paid at closing through the title company.

By default, the seller pays both the NYC Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT) and the New York State transfer tax. New construction sponsor sales typically shift the RPTT to the buyer through a sponsor rider. Commercial transactions sometimes split the tax by negotiation. The mansion tax (a separate state imposition over $1M residential) is the buyer's obligation by default.

Title insurance is an indemnity policy that protects the insured (lender, owner, or both) against losses from defects in title that existed at the time of issuance — undisclosed liens, chain-of-title errors, forged deeds, missing heirs, recording errors. Owner's policy is one-time premium based on purchase price; lender's policy is based on loan amount. Both are issued at closing. Most NYC closings include both.

Generally yes for residential transactions if the contract is silent or expressly permits assignment, but in practice almost every NYC residential contract prohibits assignment without seller consent. Commercial contracts often expressly permit assignment to affiliates and prohibit it to third parties. The mechanics matter: an assignment requires the assignee to step into the assignor's obligations, transfer tax may be due twice (once on the assignment and once on the closing), and the original deposit may need to be replaced.

Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code permits a taxpayer to defer capital gains tax on the sale of investment or business real estate by reinvesting the proceeds in like-kind property within strict statutory deadlines — forty-five days to identify the replacement property and one hundred eighty days to close on it. A qualified intermediary holds the proceeds between sale and reinvestment to satisfy the constructive-receipt rule. Primary residences are not eligible.

No. New York does not recognize beneficiary deeds, transfer-on-death deeds, or TOD/POD instruments for real estate. Real property in New York must be transferred during life by a recorded deed delivered to the grantee, or at death through the will and probate (or through a trust that holds title before death). The states that recognize TOD deeds (Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, and others) do not provide a model that works here — the planning has to be done through a lifetime deed or a trust.

A lis pendens (Latin: "suit pending") is a notice recorded against title to real property that alerts the world to a pending lawsuit affecting that property. In New York, the notice is authorized by CPLR Article 65 and is the standard procedural tool in specific performance actions, partition actions under RPAPL Article 6, foreclosure proceedings, and any other litigation seeking title-affecting relief. A recorded lis pendens makes the property effectively unmarketable until the underlying litigation resolves or the notice is canceled.