Recording

The full definition

Filing an instrument with the register or county clerk so it becomes part of the public record. Recording establishes priority against later purchasers and lenders.

Which related terms should you know?

These are the terms that come up alongside recording in the same file.

ACRIS

New York City's public index of recorded property documents for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, easements and many liens are recorded here, which makes it the starting point for confirming ownership in those four boroughs. Staten Island instruments are indexed by the Richmond County Clerk, not here, though a Staten Island transfer tax return is still filed through ACRIS.

Deed

The instrument that conveys real property. Signature, acknowledgment and delivery make it effective between the parties, while recording is what protects it against later purchasers.

Gap coverage

Coverage for matters recorded between the effective date of the search and the recording of the insured instruments. The seller's affidavit of title supports it.

Satisfaction of mortgage

The instrument that releases a paid mortgage from the record. Until it is recorded, the old mortgage still appears as a lien against the property.

Mortgage recording tax

The New York tax due when a mortgage is recorded, computed on the new money secured. On a building with six or fewer apartments the lender pays 0.25 points of the combined rate and may not pass it to the borrower, so a buyer there budgets 1.8 or 1.925 percent rather than the full rate. A CEMA is the standard structure used to reduce the taxable amount.

What else should you read before closing?