Which ALTA endorsements are common in New York?

New York endorsements are issued on TIRSA forms, so the ALTA number is a shorthand rather than the operative document. When a lender's closing instructions call for an ALTA number, the file gets the corresponding TIRSA endorsement, and the two are not always word for word identical.

The residential core set answers the questions a lender asks about a one to four family or condominium unit: that recorded restrictions have not been violated and no future violation forfeits title, that there is no environmental lien of record, that the improvements sit on the insured land, and that the parcel has legal access to a public street.

Condominium and planned unit development units add their own. A condominium endorsement addresses the declaration, common charges and right of first refusal. A co-op file goes a different route entirely, with UCC search coverage and the recognition agreement rather than a recorded declaration.

Survey coverage depends on whether an acceptable survey exists. Without a current survey the standard survey exception remains, and the choice becomes ordering a new survey, obtaining a survey affidavit and inspection, or accepting the exception. On townhouses and mixed-use buildings that choice is worth raising early with the client.

Ask for the endorsement list in writing before the closing date is set. Some endorsements require underwriting approval, additional documents or a fee, and an endorsement requested at the table is the most common cause of a closing that starts an hour late.