NYC Closings Glossary

Money: taxes, fees and premiums

CEMA (Consolidation, Extension and Modification Agreement)

An agreement in which an existing mortgage is assigned to the buyer’s new lender and consolidated with new money rather than being satisfied and freshly recorded. Because New York’s mortgage recording tax applies to new money, a CEMA can reduce the tax owed on the assigned portion. It requires the existing lender’s cooperation and takes additional lead time.

Closing statement

The itemized accounting of who paid what at the closing table — purchase price, adjustments, taxes, title charges, recording fees and lender costs. It is the document to reconcile against the estimate you were given at contract.

Escrow (at closing)

Funds held back from the seller’s proceeds and released only when a defined condition is met — a violation cured, a permit signed off, a repair completed. It is the standard tool for closing on time despite an unresolved item.

Flip tax

A transfer fee charged by a co-op corporation, and occasionally a condominium, when a unit is sold. It is set by the building’s governing documents, not by law, and can be a percentage of price, a per-share amount, or a flat fee. Whether the buyer or seller pays it is a matter of the building’s rules and the contract.

Mansion tax

A New York State transfer tax paid by the buyer on residential purchases at or above one million dollars, applied on a graduated scale that increases at higher price bands. It is separate from, and additional to, State and City real property transfer taxes.

Mortgage recording tax

The tax due when a mortgage is recorded in New York, calculated on the amount of the new debt. It is typically the largest single closing cost on a financed New York City purchase, and it is the cost a CEMA is used to reduce.

Title insurance (TIRSA rate)

Insurance protecting against defects in title. In New York, premiums are set by a rate schedule filed with the State by the Title Insurance Rate Service Association, so the premium for a given amount of insurance is a calculated figure rather than a negotiated one.

Transfer tax (RPTT and NYS)

Taxes on the conveyance itself — a New York City Real Property Transfer Tax and a New York State transfer tax. Customarily paid by the seller on a resale, though sponsor sales in new developments frequently shift them to the buyer by contract.

Documents and identifiers

ACRIS

The Automated City Register Information System, New York City’s public index of recorded property documents. Deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, easements and many liens are recorded here, which makes it the first place to confirm who owns a property and what is recorded against it.

BBL (Borough-Block-Lot)

The tax lot identifier that uniquely names a parcel of New York City real property: one digit for the borough, then the block, then the lot. Most City records are organized by BBL rather than by street address, so the BBL is what makes a records search reliable.

BIN (Building Identification Number)

A seven-digit number identifying an individual building. One tax lot can hold several buildings and therefore several BINs, which is why a violation search by address alone can miss records attached to a different structure on the same lot.

Title exception

An item listed in a title report that the title insurer will not insure against — a lien, an easement, an open permit, a survey discrepancy. Clearing exceptions, or agreeing to take title subject to them, is much of what the period between contract and closing consists of.

Compliance and City records

Certificate of Occupancy (C of O)

The Department of Buildings document stating a building’s legal use and occupancy — how many dwelling units it may contain, and what each floor may be used for. If the actual use of a building does not match its C of O, that mismatch is a legal defect in the building itself, not a paperwork problem.

Certificate of Correction

The filing that tells a New York City agency a cited condition has been corrected, supported by the proof that agency accepts. Correcting the condition without filing an accepted Certificate of Correction generally leaves the violation open in the City’s records.

ECB judgment

The judgment entered when an Environmental Control Board (now OATH Hearings Division) penalty goes unpaid or a hearing is defaulted. The City pursues collection on it, and title companies routinely require it satisfied or escrowed before a transfer closes.

FISP (Facade Inspection Safety Program / Local Law 11)

The cyclical facade inspection and filing requirement for New York City buildings above six stories. An overdue cycle or a facade filed as unsafe carries ongoing exposure and often a sidewalk shed, and both follow the building to a new owner.

Letter of No Objection

A Department of Buildings letter stating the legal use of a building that predates the Certificate of Occupancy requirement. For many pre-1938 buildings it is the document that establishes legal use for a lender or title company.

OATH Hearings Division

The New York City tribunal that hears summonses issued by DOB, FDNY, DSNY, DOHMH and other agencies. It absorbed the Environmental Control Board’s hearing function, which is why the same matter is described as both an ECB violation and an OATH hearing.

Open permit

A Department of Buildings permit that was pulled but never signed off. The City still treats the work as unfinished, and the permit stays against the property after a sale regardless of who pulled it.

TCO (Temporary Certificate of Occupancy)

A time-limited Certificate of Occupancy issued while a building is finished. It expires and must be renewed. A unit generally cannot be conveyed while the TCO covering it has lapsed, which is a common source of delay in new-construction closings.

Violation (cited against the premises)

A City agency’s record that a condition at a property does not comply with a code or rule. Because the citation names the premises rather than a person, the obligation to correct it and certify the correction moves with the property when it is sold.

Process and contract terms

Survival clause

The contract provision stating which representations remain enforceable after the deed is delivered, and for how long. Under customary New York practice representations otherwise merge into the deed at closing and stop being actionable.

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