Closing help
Closing Questions, Answered
Every question on its own page, answered in the first forty to sixty words.
What should you ask before a New York closing?
Quick Answer
Ask what the searches will cover, who pays each tax and fee, what the lender will require, and what happens if the search finds a problem. Each of those has its own page below, and each opens with a direct answer before the detail, so you can read only what applies to your deal.
What do buyers ask about title and closing costs?
- What is title insurance?Title insurance covers defects in a property's past: old liens, recording errors, forged deeds, undisclosed heirs. How the coverage works in New York.
- How much does title insurance cost in New York?NY title premiums come from the TIRSA rate manual approved by DFS, so every licensed agent charges the same. What actually changes your closing number.
- Who pays for title insurance in New York?In New York the buyer customarily pays for the owner's policy, the lender's policy, searches and recording. What the contract can shift, and what it cannot.
- Do I need an owner's title policy if my lender already requires one?A lender's policy protects the bank, not you, and ends when the loan is paid. What an owner's policy adds on a New York purchase, and what it costs to skip.
- What is the difference between an owner's policy and a lender's policy?An owner's policy insures the buyer for the purchase price. A lender's policy insures the bank for the loan amount. How the two differ on a New York closing.
- What does title insurance cover?Old liens, recording errors, forged deeds, undisclosed heirs, easements: what a New York title policy covers, what Schedule B excludes, and how claims work.
- What happens if the title search finds a problem before closing?Schedule B-I requirements are the punch list, not a dead deal. How New York closings clear old liens, missing satisfactions and name hits before the table.
- How long does a title search take?Three to five business days for a clean NYC house or condo, longer for co-ops, estates and multi-parcel files. What slows a New York title search down.
- How long does co-op board approval take in NYC?Most NYC co-op boards decide three to eight weeks after a complete package arrives. What starts the clock, what stalls it, and where the interview fits in.
- What is in a co-op board package?A NYC co-op board package carries the application, contract, tax returns, financial statement, lender commitment and reference letters. What each item does.
- Do co-ops have title insurance?A NYC co-op purchase transfers shares, not real property, so no owner’s policy issues. What the lien search and UCC search do in place of a title policy.
- Can a co-op board reject a buyer?A NYC co-op board can decline a purchaser without giving a reason, subject only to fair-housing law. What that means for a contract and a mortgage rate lock.
- What happens at a co-op board interview?The NYC co-op board interview is a short fit check after the package is read. What directors ask, what to avoid saying, and how soon the vote usually follows.
- What is a sponsor unit in a co-op?A sponsor unit is an unsold apartment still held by the converter. How the offering plan changes board approval, transfer taxes and the condition of the unit.
- Do sponsor units skip board approval?Sponsor sales of unsold co-op shares usually avoid board consent under the offering plan. What the purchaser still files, and what the board still controls.
- What are HDFC co-op income caps?HDFC co-ops cap purchaser household income under the Private Housing Finance Law, against an area median income ceiling. How the cap is measured and verified.
- What is the risk in a land lease co-op?A land lease co-op rents the ground under the building. Rent resets can raise maintenance sharply and the lease end date limits financing and resale value.
- Does a condop close as a co-op or as a condo?A condop apartment closes as a co-op share transfer even though the building is divided into condominium units. What that hybrid changes at the closing table.
- What is the difference between common charges and maintenance?Condo common charges fund operations only, with taxes billed separately. Co-op maintenance bundles operations, property taxes and the underlying mortgage.
- Who pays a co-op or condo assessment at closing?A NYC co-op or condo assessment is allocated by the contract of sale, not by custom. How installments and lump sums get split between seller and purchaser.
- What does a co-op financing cap mean?A co-op financing cap limits how much of the price a buyer may borrow, set by board policy rather than statute. How it affects contracts and board approval.
- What is an alteration agreement?An alteration agreement governs renovation in a NYC co-op or condo: plans, permits, insurance, deposits, work hours and liability. What buyers should check.
What do sellers ask before a closing?
- Who pays the flip tax in a New York co-op sale?A flip tax usually comes off the seller’s proceeds, but plenty of New York buildings shift it to the purchaser. Why the rider has to name the paying party.
- Who pays transfer tax on a sponsor sale?Sponsor sales usually shift the state and city transfer taxes to the purchaser, and the amount is grossed up. How the offering plan controls the allocation.
- Can you resell an HDFC co-op at market price?HDFC resale is limited by the building’s own documents: a purchaser income cap, a flip tax to the corporation and, where one exists, a resale price formula.
- Can you sublet a co-op in NYC?Most NYC co-ops allow subletting only under strict limits: waiting periods, board approval, term caps and sublet fees. What the lease and house rules control.
- What does a seller do to prepare a co-op for sale?Before listing a NYC co-op: locate the stock certificate and lease, confirm the payoff and lender custody, clear arrears and settle the flip tax in writing.
What do the searches, the commitment and the cure actually involve?
- How does a CEMA work at closing?A CEMA assigns the old mortgage instead of satisfying it, so New York mortgage recording tax is paid only on new money. The documents and the sequence.
- Which ALTA endorsements are common in New York?ALTA 9, 8.1, 22, 17, plus condominium and survey endorsements: the TIRSA endorsement set that shows up on most New York residential and co-op closings.
- What is the difference between a title search and a title commitment?The search is raw discovery. The commitment is the insurer's offer, split into Schedule A, B-I requirements and B-II exceptions. How to read both in New York.
- What is curative title work?Curative work clears Schedule B-I before closing: payoffs, missing satisfactions, heirship affidavits, ACRIS indexing fixes and escrow holdbacks in New York.
- How long does recording take in New York City?ACRIS e-recording usually accepts clean residential instruments within days. What causes rejections, how indexing works, and why recorded copies are the proof.
- When does the reissue rate apply?Producing a prior owner's or lender's policy within the reissue period lowers the New York premium. Where to find the old policy and what qualifies a file.
- Can a condo board block a sale in New York?A condo board holds a right of first refusal, not an approval right, so it rarely stops a sale. What it can do is delay one by withholding the waiver.
- How long does a condo right of first refusal waiver take?Condo waiver letters usually issue two to four weeks after a complete application. What actually delays them, and how to keep the closing date intact.
What will your lender require?
- What is a closing protection letter?A CPL indemnifies the lender if the settlement agent mishandles funds or ignores closing instructions. What borrowers should know about it in New York.
- What is the difference between the ALTA settlement statement and the Closing Disclosure?The Closing Disclosure is the lender's borrower form. The ALTA statement is the agent's full accounting for both sides. How to reconcile them before closing.
- When does the lender get the title commitment?The commitment reaches the lender's closing department once issued, usually days after a clean search. Why simultaneous delivery keeps a New York file moving.
- What amount is the lender's policy issued for?The lender's policy is written at the loan amount, at a simultaneous issue rate when an owner's policy is issued too. How changes before closing are handled.
- How are title fees shown on a Loan Estimate?Section C holds shoppable title services, Section E holds recording and transfer taxes. How to read New York title lines and compare them to the final numbers.
- Why will a co-op lender not close without a recognition agreement?A co-op loan is secured by shares rather than a recorded mortgage, so no lender funds until the building signs an agreement respecting its interest.
- Can you do a CEMA on a condo refinance?A condo refinance can use a CEMA because the loan is a recorded mortgage. How the assignment works, what it saves, and which lenders decline to cooperate.
- Why is there no CEMA on a co-op?A co-op loan is secured by a UCC filing, not a recorded mortgage, so no mortgage recording tax applies and a CEMA has nothing to consolidate or save.
- What is a non-warrantable condo?A non-warrantable condo fails secondary market eligibility, so conventional financing is unavailable. What causes it and how buyers finance around it.
- What should a lender check in a co-op loan file?A co-op lender underwrites the building as well as the borrower: financials, underlying mortgage, arrears, land lease, financing cap and recognition agreement.
What happens on closing day?
- What do I need to bring to a closing in NYC?Photo ID, funds in the form the agent instructed, a checkbook for adjustments, and every signer. The New York City closing checklist for buyers and sellers.
- How do I avoid wire fraud at a closing?Closing wire fraud starts with a spoofed email changing account details. Verify by phone at a known number, confirm digits, and act fast if funds already left.
- Who is in the room at a NYC closing?Buyer, seller, both attorneys, the title closer and a lender representative. Who attends a New York City closing, what each one does, and who can skip it.
- What documents do I sign at closing?Note, mortgage, title affidavit, settlement statement and transfer tax returns for buyers; deed and releases for sellers. What each document actually does.
- What gets recorded after a NYC closing?Deed, mortgage, assignments and satisfactions record through ACRIS with the City Register, along with transfer tax returns. What is filed instead of recorded.
- What happens after the closing table?Recording, recorded copies, the final policy, satisfactions and post-closing lender conditions. The New York closing tail and the documents to keep forever.
- What happens if a co-op sale falls through after board approval?Board approval does not close a deal. What happens to escrow, the approval and the timeline when a NYC co-op deal collapses after the board has signed off.
Why is every question on its own page?
Because a question with its own URL can be found, linked to and cited on its own. A single long list buries the answer a reader actually came for, and answer engines lift a page, not a fragment. Each page here carries its own answer, its own schema and its own related links.
Do these pages give legal advice?
No. They describe how a step works in a New York transaction and what to watch for. They do not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or deal, and reading them does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice on a specific transaction, tell us about it.
Where should you go next?
- The NYC closing help centerEvery closing resource on this site in one place.
- The NYC closings glossaryEvery term these answers use, defined.
- Title issues and how they are curedOne page per defect, with the cure and the cost.
- NYC building types and how they closeCo-op, condo and hybrid, and what changes legally.
- Real estate closingsHow the firm handles purchases, sales and refinances.
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Legal Disclaimer: These pages are general information about New York practice. They are not legal advice, they do not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading them does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.