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Quick answer: Before you make an offer on an NYC apartment, check five free city sites beyond ACRIS: DOB BIS for building violations, HPD Online for landlord history, ZoLa for zoning, FloodHelpNY for flood risk, and StreetEasy’s Past Sales tab for what units actually sold for. None require an account.

Most buyers stop at ACRIS. That’s understandable; it’s the most well-known one, and it’s where deeds, mortgages, and liens are stored. But ACRIS tells you who owns the building and what they owe on it. It doesn’t tell you if the radiator has been broken since March. It also doesn’t say if the “junior 4” was legally meant to be a one-bedroom.

That’s a different set of records, run by different agencies, none of which talk to each other. Welcome to New York.

What should I actually check before making an offer?

Beyond ACRIS, run the building and the unit through these five places. Each one takes a few minutes and has, at some point, saved a buyer from a bad closing.

How do I check a building’s DOB violations?

Go to DOB BIS and pull up “Property Profile Overview” for the address. Open, active violations are the ones that matter most, since they can hold up your closing until they’re resolved.

Every violation gets adjudicated at OATH, the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, where you can see whether it’s pending, upheld, dismissed, or in default. A pile of defaulted violations is a landlord who ignores the city, which tells you something about how they’ll treat your maintenance requests too.

Real estate attorney Peter Zinkovetsky’s due diligence checklist puts violation searches across DOB, FDNY, and OATH/ECB records near the top, right alongside verifying the Certificate of Occupancy actually matches how the building is being used.

What does HPD Online actually show me?

HPD Online is where you check the landlord’s track record, not just the building’s. Search the address, and you’ll see registration data, violations, and any housing court litigation against the owner.

Class C violations are the ones to worry about; they’re classified as immediately hazardous with a 24-hour cure window. A building with a stack of unresolved Class C violations, or a landlord who’s shown up in housing court repeatedly, is a pattern, not a coincidence.

As Brick Underground’s guide to HPD Online puts it, the complaints tab lets you see if other residents have already flagged the exact problem you’re worried about.

How do I know if the unit was illegally converted?

Pull the Certificate of Occupancy through DOB NOW for newer filings, or the legacy BIS system for older buildings. Then compare it to what you’re actually being shown.

If the listing says three bedrooms and the C of O says two, someone put up a wall without a permit. That’s not a quirky layout; it’s an illegal conversion, and the NYC Department of Buildings runs entire campaigns warning buyers about exactly this. Lenders won’t finance a purchase if the certificate doesn’t match the building’s actual use, so this can kill your closing outright, not just your resale value.

Does it matter if the building is in a flood zone?

Yes, and it’s an easy thing to miss if you’re apartment hunting in a neighborhood that doesn’t scream “waterfront.” Check FloodHelpNY or the FEMA Map Service Center by address.

If the building is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area (zones starting with A or V) and you’re taking out a federally backed mortgage, your lender will require flood insurance, which isn’t covered by a standard homeowner’s policy. A National Flood Insurance Program policy often costs less than $400 per year. You should know this cost before you sign a contract, not during it. And if the building ever received federal disaster assistance, the insurance requirement stays attached to the property forever, for you and whoever buys it after you.

What if I want to renovate? Is the building landmarked?

Check the Discover NYC Landmarks map from the Landmarks Preservation Commission before you fall in love with the exposed brick and the plans to open up the kitchen.

New York has 141 historic districts covering nearly 34,000 buildings. If yours is one of them, exterior changes and sometimes interior ones need LPC approval on top of a normal DOB permit. That’s a longer timeline and a real budget line, not a footnote.

How do I know if the asking price is realistic?

Open the building’s page on StreetEasy and click into the Past Sales tab. It shows what units in that specific building actually closed for, alongside what they were originally asking, so you can see the real gap between ask and sale price for that address.

Brick Underground calls StreetEasy’s pricing history one of the most useful things buyers can check before submitting an offer, and closed sales that are linked through to ACRIS give you the recorded price, not the number someone typed into a listing.

Everything here is what ACRIS won’t tell you. For what it does cover, deeds, mortgages, and liens, see our full ACRIS guide.

Buying a co-op instead of a condo? The violation and zoning checks above still apply, but you’ll also want a co-op lien search, since ACRIS won’t show anything for a share sale. And if you want the full reference list of every government database mentioned here, not just the walkthrough, see our complete due diligence links list. Once the building and unit clear these checks, the next thing worth mapping out is what you’ll actually owe at closing. Our NYC closing costs calculator breaks down transfer taxes, title insurance, and the rest, and buying with a NestApple agent brings a buyer rebate that can offset a real share of it.
For the full picture these sites feed into, our Contracts & Due Diligence guide covers what else to check before you sign.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a lawyer to do any of this myself?
No, all of these sites are free and public; no login required. But a real estate attorney should still review title, the offering plan or co-op board package, and anything the searches turn up, before you sign a contract.

How long does this kind of self-directed check actually take?
Fifteen to twenty minutes per building if nothing’s wrong. If DOB BIS or HPD Online turns up a long violation history, budget more time to actually read what each one says.

What’s the difference between a DOB violation and an HPD violation?
DOB violations are about the physical building, construction, permits, and structural issues. HPD violations are about housing conditions and landlord obligations under the Housing Maintenance Code, including heat, pests, and repairs. A building can have a clean DOB record and a rough HPD record, or vice versa.

Can open violations actually stop a closing?
Yes. Open, active violations can delay or block a closing until they’re resolved or the seller agrees to escrow funds to cover them. This is exactly why attorneys like Peter Zinkovetsky put violation searches early in a due diligence checklist, not as a last-minute check.

Is the Certificate of Occupancy the same thing as ACRIS records?
No. ACRIS holds deeds, mortgages, liens, ownership, and money. The Certificate of Occupancy, obtained from DOB NOW or BIS, describes the building’s legal use and layout. You need both; they answer different questions.

What if the building doesn’t show up in ZoLa at all?
That’s unusual and worth flagging directly to your attorney. Every lot in the five boroughs has a zoning designation, so a blank result usually means an address or block/lot mismatch worth double-checking rather than an actual gap in the record.

Quick answer: ACRIS is New York City’s free property records database, covering Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx from 1966 to today. No login, no fee, at a836-acris.nyc.gov. Co-op sales often show no price, and apartments that definitely exist can come back “not found.” Here’s what actually trips people up.

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How Many Ways Can You Search ACRIS?

Six, not eight. Somebody miscounted once, and the internet has copied that mistake for years. That is honestly a very ACRIS thing to happen.

The “seventh method” everyone mentions, Find Addresses and Parcels, isn’t a search at all. It converts an address into a BBL number so the real search can happen.

Skip that step, and you’ll spend twenty minutes wondering why nothing works. It’s a rite of passage.

How Do I Find My BBL Number?

1. Go to a836-acris.nyc.gov and click “Find Addresses and Parcels.” Not “Search Property Records”; that’s a trap for later.
2. Enter borough, house number, street name. Buying a condo or co-op? Include the unit number.
3. It gives you a BBL: borough code (1 Manhattan, 2 Bronx, 3 Brooklyn, 4 Queens, 5 Staten Island), a five-digit block, and a four-digit lot.
4. Already own the place? It’s on your property tax bill. You’ve had it the whole time.

Why Does ACRIS Say My Search Failed?

We pulled real questions from years of StreetEasy forum posts. Same three problems, over and over, since 2005. That tells you it’s not you.

“Where’s the price?” This is the ACRIS equivalent of a national pastime. Co-op sales before the 2003 to 2004 cutoff weren’t recorded at all because a co-op sale is a stock transfer, not a deed.

HDFC co-ops show nothing, ever, because they’re exempt from the transfer tax that would’ve triggered a filing in the first place. And when a sponsor-unit sale does show a price, it can run 8% to 10% higher than what actually changed hands, because certain taxes get baked into the number.

One buyer on a forum called this a scam. It’s not a scam. It’s a system that never explains itself.

“It says the unit doesn’t exist. I’m standing in it.” The BBL lookup fails silently on real, occupied apartments, usually over something as trivial as “5A” versus “5-A.” The error message won’t tell you which. You just get to guess.

“Where’s the mortgage amount?” Blank, on purpose. Co-op financing is a UCC filing against shares, not a real-property mortgage, so ACRIS knows the loan exists but declines to disclose its amount.

How Do I Unmask an LLC Buyer?

Half of NYC’s interesting deeds list the buyer as some anonymous LLC, because rich people love privacy and paperwork loopholes in roughly equal measure. Four steps:

1. Copy the exact LLC name off the deed image, not the search-results text. The two differ just often enough to sabotage your next search out of spite.
2. Run that name through the NY Department of State’s entity database (apps.dos.ny.gov/publicInquiry).
3. Check the mortgage recorded against the property. The signature block often has a real name, even when the deed is playing coy.
4. Three or more units? Pull the HPD registration. It usually names the managing agent.

Is ACRIS a Substitute for a Title Report?

No, and every NYC real estate attorney will tell you the same thing. Adam Leitman Bailey and Colin Kaufman describe ACRIS as “a reliable device for discovering… owners, documents, prices, mortgages, filed liens, and legal descriptions.”

Reliable for discovery, sure. Reliable enough to skip a title report before closing on a place worth more than your car? Absolutely not. The same firm’s advice elsewhere: use “all search options, as opposed to just one.” Running one search and calling it due diligence is how people find out about a lien the hard way, at the closing table, in front of everyone.

What ACRIS structurally can’t catch: most judgments, mechanic’s liens, and building loan contracts, filed elsewhere entirely. The Department of Finance records what it’s legally required to record. It doesn’t vet any of it.

Does Buying a Co-op Change Anything?

Yes. Braverman Greenspun’s Lauren Piechocki makes the distinction attorneys constantly make: co-op purchases require a lien search, since there’s no deed to record as there is with a condo.

Budget “at least a few thousand dollars” for title insurance on a condo. Co-op buyers sometimes get a bond or leasehold policy instead, usually only when the board insists. Boards often insist on things. If you’re budgeting for these costs alongside everything else in a purchase, our NYC closing costs calculator breaks down title insurance, transfer taxes, and the rest of what you’ll owe at the table. And if you’re buying with a NestApple agent, our buyer rebate can offset a meaningful chunk of those costs.
For the full picture beyond deeds and liens, our Contracts & Due Diligence guide covers what else to check before you sign.

What If I’m Buying Outside the Four Boroughs?

ACRIS has nothing for you:

• Westchester: wro.westchesterclerk.com
• Nassau County (Long Island): lrv.nassaucountyny.gov
• Hudson County, NJ: straight to the county clerk
• Staten Island: Richmond County Clerk, the borough ACRIS forgot

More NYC Property Records Guides

ACRIS covers deeds, mortgages, and liens for the four boroughs. These cover what it doesn’t:

• RP-5217, TP-584, and NYC-RPT Explained
• Westchester County Clerk Property Records
• Cooperative Apartment Lien Search
• NYC Property Due Diligence: The Government Links List
• eAccessNY: Verify a Broker’s License
• NYC Due Diligence: Websites to Check Before You Buy
• How to Look Up Your NYC Property Tax Bill

ACRIS NYC FAQ

Do I need to pay or register?
No. Searching and viewing are free; no account is needed. A certified copy runs $4.00/page, and an uncertified one $1.00/page, if you need something official.

Can I search by owner name instead of address?
Yes, but try both “LLC” and “L.L.C.” before you assume it’s not there. Formatting is petty like that.

Why can’t I find a sale from before 2003?
If it’s a co-op, that’s why. Anything before 1966 isn’t online at all, no exceptions; records that old are kept in person at the City Register’s office.

Is Staten Island really not in ACRIS?
Recording, no, that’s the Richmond County Clerk. But Staten Island still has to file its transfer taxes through ACRIS, plus a paper filing on top, the detail every other guide skips.

The site broke at 1am. Is it me?
No. Sundays 5am to 10am and daily 1am to 2am are official maintenance windows. Try again outside those hours before you assume the worst.

Nobody’s answering the phone.
(212) 487-6300 or acrishelp@finance.nyc.gov, the ACRIS help desk. They’ve already heard every version of your confusion.

Quick answer: ACRIS covers deeds, mortgages, and liens, but it doesn’t touch building violations, illegal work, zoning limits, or flood risk. For that you need other city and federal databases: DOB NOW for permits and violations, the DOF Property Information Portal for taxes, ZoLa for zoning, and the NYC Flood Hazard Mapper for flood zones.

Why isn’t ACRIS enough on its own?

ACRIS answers one question well: who owns this property and what’s recorded against it. It won’t tell you if the basement apartment is legal, if the roof deck was ever permitted, or if the block is in a flood zone. Those facts are held by the Department of Buildings, the Department of City Planning, and FEMA, not the City Register.

A lot of buyers stop at ACRIS because it’s the site everyone’s heard of, and it does feel thorough when you’re staring at forty years of deed history. But a clean deed says nothing about whether the extra bedroom shown in the listing photos was ever filed with the city.

What government sources should you actually check?

Below is the working list. Each one answers a specific question, and you generally only need to go deep on the two or three that matter for the property you’re looking at. A prewar co-op doesn’t need a flood check; a Zone A house in the Rockaways needs little else.

A few entries above point to a specific page worth bookmarking on its own: DOB NOW’s search options are documented in its own seven-search-type manual, unpaid water bills over $1,000 can end up in the city’s annual tax lien sale, and coastal risk beyond the city’s own mapper is covered by FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center.

What’s the one mistake that trips up almost everyone?

Treating “no open violation” as “fully clean.” It isn’t. DOB, HPD, and OATH run separate systems, and a violation can look closed in one while its penalty sits unpaid in another. An unpaid OATH judgment becomes a lien against the property, just like unpaid water bills, and neither shows up in a plain ACRIS search.

The other common one: skipping BIS because DOB NOW looks like the modern, complete system. It’s not, at least not yet. Older certificates of occupancy and pre-2010 filings often only live in BIS, and a building’s legal use traces back to whichever CO is on file, however old.

How does this actually catch problems? A real example.

Certificates of occupancy are the clearest case. A building’s CO is the legal record of what it’s allowed to be used for, and it doesn’t update itself when someone finishes a basement or adds a unit without a permit. Brick Underground has covered this repeatedly: a listing can show four bedrooms while the CO on file only permits three, because the fourth was never legalized.

Temporary certificates of occupancy add another wrinkle. A Brooklyn Law School review of TCO practice found that buyers routinely close on units covered only by a temporary CO, which expires and must be renewed, sometimes indefinitely, while the building never gets a permanent one. That status only shows up if you check DOB NOW or BIS directly, not from the deed.

This list is the reference version. For the narrative walkthrough of which sites matter most and why, see our due diligence guide. For the ownership and money side of a property, deeds, mortgages, and liens, that’s ACRIS territory. See our full ACRIS guide for how to search it. Once you’ve cleared this checklist, the next real cost to plan for is what you’ll owe at the closing table. Our NYC closing costs calculator breaks down transfer taxes, title insurance, and the rest, and buying with a NestApple agent brings a buyer rebate that can offset a meaningful share of it.
For everything else this checklist connects to, our Contracts & Due Diligence guide covers the rest of what to verify before you sign.

FAQ

Do I need a lawyer to check these, or can I do it myself?
You can pull every record above yourself for free. A real estate attorney is still worth it for interpreting what an open violation or an E-designation actually means for your purchase and for handling the title search alongside it.

How is this different from checking ACRIS?
ACRIS is about ownership and money: deeds, mortgages, liens, and judgments. The sources here are about the physical property and what you’re legally allowed to do with it: permits, violations, zoning, flood risk, and contamination history.

Which of these matters most for a condo or co-op unit versus a house?
For co-ops and condos, DOB NOW, HPD Online, and OATH matter most, since building-wide violations affect every unit’s value and financing. For a house or small multifamily, add DEP water history and, near the water, the Flood Hazard Mapper.

Can an open DOB violation kill my mortgage approval?
It can. Lenders and their attorneys routinely pull DOB and HPD records before closing, and a serious open violation, especially one tied to an illegal conversion, can delay or derail financing until it’s resolved.

Is there one site that pulls all of this together?
Not officially. NYC Open Data hosts the underlying datasets for several of these agencies if you want to query them together, but there’s no single city portal that merges DOB, DOF, DEP, and LPC records into one lookup.

Quick answer: A cooperative apartment lien search is a public records check your attorney orders to confirm the seller’s co-op shares aren’t tied up by debt. Co-op shares are personal property, not real estate, so a title company searches UCC filings, judgments, and tax liens instead of ACRIS. It runs $300 to $400 and takes about a week.

What is a cooperative apartment lien search?

When you buy a co-op in New York, you’re not buying real property. You’re buying shares in the corporation that owns the building, plus a proprietary lease that gives you the right to live in your unit. Those shares can be pledged as collateral, just like a house can carry a mortgage. A lien search is how your attorney checks whether anyone else has a claim on them before you close.

The search is ordered after the purchase contract is signed and includes UCC financing statements, federal and state tax liens, judgments, bankruptcies, mechanics’ liens, lis pendens filings, OFAC screening, and a check of the building’s underlying mortgage.

Why doesn’t ACRIS show anything for a co-op?

This trips up many first-time buyers, especially those who have already searched ACRIS for the building and found nothing useful. ACRIS records deeds, mortgages, and other instruments against real property. A co-op sale isn’t a deed transfer; it’s a stock transfer, so it was never going to show up there in the first place.

Stephen M. Lasser of Lasser Law Group lays out the mechanics: co-op shares and the proprietary lease are personal property under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, not real property under Article 9-B, which governs condos. Different article, different filing system, different search entirely.

One consequence buyers don’t expect: because the co-op’s claim for unpaid maintenance attaches automatically under UCC Article 9, without any filing required, the corporation’s lien has priority over almost everything else, including the bank’s mortgage on the shares. A condo association’s lien for unpaid common charges, by contrast, sits behind the first mortgage. So a building’s maintenance arrears can matter more to a co-op buyer than to a condo buyer at the same address.

How is this different from a condo title search?

A condo purchase gets full title insurance, the same kind you’d buy for a house. That policy insures the deed itself, and premiums scale with the sale price. A co-op purchase skips that entirely because there’s no deed to insure.

Instead, you get a lien search report and, if you want it, a separate policy that covers what title insurance would normally cover. Two products exist for this: a leasehold policy that mirrors condo-style title coverage and a narrower “Eagle 9” policy focused on UCC-related claims. According to Coop & Condo’s overview of co-op liens, leasehold coverage is around $3,155 on a $1 million apartment, while an Eagle 9 policy is closer to $1,257 for the same value. Both are optional and, by that account, underused.

Why does that gap matter? A lien search firm’s liability for missing something is usually capped, sometimes as low as a few thousand dollars, sometimes as high as $100,000. If a search misses a $150,000 judgment and the search company’s cap is $20,000, you’re covering the rest. Title insurance on a condo doesn’t have the same ceiling problem.

Who performs the search, and what does it cost?

Your attorney orders it, but a title or abstract company actually runs it, usually the same week the contract gets signed. Search firms working NYC co-ops full-time, like Midwood Abstract and Premium Research Corp, pull county clerk judgment and lien indexes, UCC filing records, and bankruptcy court dockets under the seller’s name, plus a search of the co-op corporation itself for blanket mortgages against the building.

Pricing sits in a narrow band across the sources we could verify: one attorney overview cites $200 to $500; another puts the range at $300 to $400. Recognition agreement fees, charged separately by the co-op’s managing agent to acknowledge the lender’s UCC-1 lien, typically add another $200 to $400. Treat any number outside those ranges as building-specific until your attorney confirms it; fees vary by managing agent and lender.

What can a lien search catch, and what can it miss?

A properly run search will catch: unpaid maintenance the seller hasn’t disclosed, an old UCC-1 that was never terminated after a prior loan was paid off, a judgment or tax lien against the seller personally, and any blanket mortgage the co-op corporation itself is carrying on the building.

It has real limits, though. One StreetEasy forum thread notes that lien search reports routinely search for the buyer’s name as well as the seller’s and flag any UCC filings, judgments, or bankruptcies associated with anyone with a similar name. That’s a feature, not a mistake, but it surprises people who assumed the search was only about the seller.

The bigger limit is structural. NYC real estate attorneys Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman point out that co-op share foreclosures happen without judicial supervision, through notice and a private auction rather than a court case.

That process can leave compliance defects that never make it into any searchable public record, which is part of why they call the framework “the accidental doctrine”: lawmakers meant to slow foreclosures down, not create title problems nobody can verify. A lien search is only as good as what got filed somewhere searchable. It can’t confirm procedural steps that happen quietly between a lender and a shareholder.

Misfiled liens are the other wrinkle. A lien recorded against the wrong shareholder, or never released after a loan was paid off, still shows up on a search even though it has nothing to do with your seller. Clearing it usually means going back to whoever originally filed it to request a correction, which can delay a closing by days or weeks if it surfaces late.

Is title-style insurance worth buying for a co-op?

Most co-op deals close on the lien search alone, and most of the time, nothing goes wrong.

Whether to add leasehold or Eagle 9 coverage on top comes down to how much risk you want to carry personally if the search firm’s liability cap turns out to be lower than what it missed. That’s a conversation for your closing attorney, who knows the search company’s specific cap and the building’s history, not something to decide from a blog post.

A lien search is one piece of a bigger checklist; see our due diligence guide for the rest. For everything ACRIS actually does cover, deeds, mortgages, and liens on real property, see our full ACRIS guide. If you’re weighing these costs against everything else in a co-op purchase, our NYC closing costs calculator lays out what a lien search, recognition fees, and the rest add up to before you close. Buying with a NestApple agent also brings a buyer rebate that can offset part of it.
For everything else worth checking before you close on a co-op, our Contracts & Due Diligence guide covers the rest of the due diligence checklist.

FAQ

Does a co-op lien search show up in ACRIS?
No. ACRIS covers recorded deeds and mortgages against real property. Co-op shares are personal property, so the relevant filings are in UCC, judgment, and bankruptcy records rather than ACRIS.

How long does a co-op lien search take?
Sources describe it running roughly a week after the contract is signed, though timing depends on the title company’s queue and how quickly court and UCC records return results.

Who pays for the lien search?
The buyer typically pays for it as part of closing costs, ordered through their own attorney.

Does a co-op lien search cover the buyer too?
Often yes. Search firms commonly run UCC, judgment, and bankruptcy checks against the buyer’s name as well as the seller’s, which catches some buyers off guard the first time they see it on the report.

Is a co-op lien search the same as title insurance?
No. It’s a records search, not an insurance policy. Optional leasehold or Eagle 9 policies are available if you want coverage closer to what a condo buyer automatically gets through title insurance.

Quick answer: eAccessNY is New York State’s official portal for real estate license records, run by the NY Department of State. Anyone can use the free Public License Search to check a broker or agent’s license, confirming it’s real, active, and free of disciplinary action. No login is required.

Here’s the thing about a home purchase in New York: it’s the biggest check most people ever write, and they hand a huge chunk of the process to someone whose name they found on a listing site an hour ago. eAccessNY is the two-minute step that turns “I think this person is legit” into “I confirmed it.”

What is eAccessNY, exactly?

eAccessNY is the online licensing system used by the NY Department of State’s Division of Licensing Services to manage real estate licenses statewide. It does two jobs at once: it’s the back office where brokers and salespersons apply for, renew, and track their own licenses, and it’s a public record system anyone can search, no account needed.

Every real estate salesperson, associate broker, and broker in New York has to be licensed through this system. If someone is showing you apartments or writing offers on your behalf and they’re not in there, that’s not a paperwork gap. It’s a problem.

Why should a buyer or seller bother checking?

Because “I have a card that says Realtor on it” isn’t the same as “I’m licensed.” Real estate deals move fast. Commissions are large. NYC, in particular, attracts people who rely on hustle over credentials. A license check costs you nothing and takes less time than reading this paragraph.

What you’re confirming: the license is real and active. It is not expired or lapsed. The name matches who you’re dealing with. There is no disciplinary history on file. The Department of State can suspend or revoke a license for violations of the Real Property Law. These actions become part of the public record. You’d rather know before you sign, not after.

How do you actually look someone up?

1. Go to the official portal. Visit the NYS Division of Licensing Services eAccessNY page and click through to Public License Search. No account, no login.
2. Pick how you want to search. You can search by name, license number, city, or county. If you only have a first and last name off a business card, a name search is fine.
3. Choose the license type. Select “Real Estate Broker” or “Real Estate Salesperson” so you’re not wading through unrelated NY licenses (notaries, appraisers, and a long list of others all live in the same system).
4. Enter what you have and search. Full name spelled correctly matters more than you’d think. If nothing comes back, try the license number instead if you have it (it’s usually on their business card or email signature).
5. Open the record. Check the license status (active vs. expired vs. suspended), the effective and expiration dates, and the associated brokerage name and address.
6. Check for enforcement history. Disciplinary information, if there is any, appears in the record’s enforcement section. Anything there is public and worth reading before you go further.

If the name doesn’t match, discuss it before you sign. If the license has expired, talk about it before you sign.If the brokerage listed does not match your actual representative, talk about it before you sign. Not after.

What if the agent isn’t in the system at all?

Then you’ve found your answer. In New York, anyone acting as a real estate broker or salesperson for a fee must be licensed. No record means no license, and that’s a hard stop, not a small detail. Ask directly, and if the answer is vague, walk.

How does eAccessNY work for licensees themselves?

If you hold the license, use eAccessNY for admin tasks. You can apply for your license and renew it every two years.You can log your continuing education credits.You can also update your contact and brokerage information. Unlike the public search, this side requires an account.

New licensees set up an account by emailing realestate@dos.ny.gov for a temporary password, including your full legal name as it appears on your driver’s license, your driver’s license ID, and the email you want to use as your User ID. After that, your User ID is that email address for every future login.

One detail worth knowing if you’re licensed: The Department of State uses the email address on file. If you do not respond to emails sent there, it can affect your license status. Keep that inbox checked.

Verifying that your broker is licensed is one piece of due diligence before a purchase. See our full due diligence guide for the rest, including how to check the property itself through ACRIS. If you’re buying with a licensed NestApple agent, you can put that verified professional to work on a buyer rebate, and our NYC closing costs calculator shows what else to budget for before you sign.
For the rest of what to verify beyond who’s licensed, our Contracts & Due Diligence guide covers the full checklist.

FAQ

Is eAccessNY the same as looking someone up on Zillow or StreetEasy?
No. Listing sites show you an agent’s photo, reviews, and listings, none of which confirm they’re actually licensed. eAccessNY is the government record, the only source that tells you the license is real and current.

Does it cost anything to search?
No. The Public License Search is free and available to anyone; no account is required.

How current is the information?
License status updates typically reflect within a day or two of a change. If something looks off, a quick call to the Division of Licensing Services can confirm it.

What if I can’t find someone by name?
Double-check the spelling, try searching by license number if you have it, or try just the last name. If they are licensed under a different legal name than their professional name, ask about it directly.

Does an active license mean the person is a Realtor?
Not necessarily. “Realtor” is a trademarked term for members of the National Association of Realtors, a separate membership organization. A licensed agent is not always a Realtor. A Realtor must have a license. The license is a legal requirement. Membership is optional.

Can I check a brokerage’s license too, not just an individual agent?
Yes. The Public License Search also lets you search by organization name. Brokerage firms have their own license records, separate from those of their agents.

Quick answer: Westchester County doesn’t use ACRIS. Its property records are maintained by the Westchester County Clerk’s Land Records Division and are searchable through a separate portal called Westchester Records Online (WRO) at wro.westchesterclerk.com. You can search deeds and mortgages by owner name, address, or document number, but viewing full document images requires a free account, and pulling copies costs money. Property tax is a separate system entirely, split across your county, town, school district, and sometimes a village too.

What is the Westchester County Clerk, and why isn’t it ACRIS?

ACRIS is the New York City Department of Finance’s records system, and it only covers the five boroughs. Westchester is its own county with its own recording office, so none of its deeds, mortgages, or liens show up in ACRIS at all. If you’ve searched a Bronx property before and expect the same interface up here, you’re going to have a rough first ten minutes.

The Westchester County Clerk runs the Land Records Division out of the county courthouse in White Plains. It holds deeds going back to 1680 and mortgages recorded since 1950, all indexed and, for the most part, digitized.

How do you search Westchester property records online?

Go to Westchester Records Online (WRO). You can search the indexes for free without an account, by grantor/grantee name, current or prior owner, LLC or trust name, recorded date, document number, or book and page. That tells you whether something’s on file.

To actually view the document image, you need to register for a free WRO account. That’s not optional, and it’s the step most first-time searchers miss before wondering why every result looks blank. One mix-up worth knowing about: WRO is not the same system as PREP, which the Clerk’s office also runs. PREP prepares recording cover pages and tax forms for filing a new document; it does not search existing land records at all. If you land on PREP looking for a deed, you’re in the wrong tool.

If you’d rather skip the login screen entirely, the Clerk’s office keeps free public viewing terminals at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Room 345, White Plains. You can search and view images there without an account, which is honestly the fastest option if you’re already in the county.

What does it cost to search or copy Westchester records online?

Searching the index yourself is free. Pulling copies isn’t. Per the official fee schedule, a standard copy costs $1.30 for the first two pages and $0.65 for each additional page, capped at $40. A certified copy is $5 for up to four pages, plus $1.25 per additional page.

A staff-run search of the index costs $5 per instrument.

Recording a deed yourself starts with a $45 statutory fee. You will also pay $5 per page. For residential property, add a $125 Real Property Transfer Report fee. None of that applies if you’re just looking up someone else’s deed, but it explains why the fee page reads as if it were written for lawyers rather than buyers.

Does the Westchester system have complaints people should know about?

The most common friction point isn’t a bug, it’s the county’s own layout: Westchester has 48 separate municipalities, each with its own assessment roll and, in some cases, its own local records quirks on top of the county-wide WRO. A search that works cleanly for a house in Yonkers can behave differently for one in Bedford, simply because you’re now crossing into a different assessing unit.

The other recurring snag is the registration wall. WRO lets you search for free, then stops you cold at the image, which trips up people who assume “search” means “read.” Budget five extra minutes to create the account before you actually need a document.

How are Westchester’s online records different from ACRIS?

ACRIS is fully free to view, including document images; no login required. WRO makes you register before it hands over an image. ACRIS is a unified system across the five boroughs. Westchester’s coverage spans 48 municipalities, so a name search may return results that need a second look to confirm which town the property actually lies in.

Both let you search by name, address, or document number, and both go back decades, but the free-versus-gated line is the first real difference buyers notice.

How does Westchester County property tax actually work?

This is the part that catches even experienced NYC buyers off guard. In the city, your property tax is a single bill from a single system. In Westchester, you can owe four or five different taxing jurisdictions on the same property, each setting its own rate.

A typical Westchester property tax bill includes: county tax, town or city tax, school district tax, and, if the property is within village limits, a separate village tax on top of the town tax. Some properties also carry special district charges for services such as fire protection, water, or sewer. The school district part usually dominates. It often makes up 60 to 70 percent of the total bill. School district lines often do not match town or village borders.

Because each of the 48 municipalities assesses independently and uses its own Residential Assessment Ratio to translate that assessment into a taxable value, two houses worth the same amount on opposite sides of a town line can carry meaningfully different Westchester County property tax totals. There’s no way to shortcut this; you check the specific town, village if applicable, and school district for the parcel you’re looking at.

Westchester County Government publishes historical rates and equalization data through its Property Tax Rates page, which is the closest thing to a single source of truth, even though it still requires you to drill into the right municipality.

What’s the fastest way to actually find a property’s records?

Start with the address or owner’s name in WRO to confirm that a deed exists and to get the document number. If you hit the registration wall and don’t want to make an account yet, note the document number and call or visit the Clerk’s office instead, since staff can pull it faster with a reference number in hand. For tax history specifically, skip WRO altogether and go straight to the town or city assessor’s office, since that’s a separate system from land records.

Westchester runs its own system, but if you’re also looking at property in NYC itself, the recording process works differently there. See our full ACRIS guide for how deeds, mortgages, and liens work across the five boroughs.

Buying in Westchester specifically, not NYC proper? The same instinct to check government records before closing still applies. See our due diligence guide for the equivalent city-side checks, most of which have a Westchester-side counterpart through the town or village.

Frequently asked questions

Is Westchester County part of ACRIS?
No. ACRIS only covers New York City’s five boroughs. Westchester runs its own separate system through the County Clerk, accessed via Westchester Records Online.

Do I need an account to search Westchester property records?
Not to search the index. You do need a free account to view actual document images on wro.westchesterclerk.com.

How far back do Westchester land records go?
Deeds are indexed back to 1680, and mortgages back to 1950, per the Land Records Division.

Why does my Westchester tax bill have multiple line items?
Because you’re taxed separately by the county, your town or city, your school district, and sometimes a village, all on the same property. That’s normal for Westchester, not an error.

Can I search Westchester property records for free in person?
Yes. The Clerk’s office has free public terminals at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Room 345, White Plains, where you can search and view images without registering online.

Quick answer: RP-5217, the Real Property Transfer Report, is a New York State form. It must be filed with every deed recorded in the state, including NYC. This report feeds the state’s property assessment data. It is not a tax form. It is not the same as NYC’s transfer tax paperwork. Still, all three appear in the same closing folder. Nobody explains why there are three.

What is RP-5217, actually?

RP-5217 is New York State’s Real Property Transfer Report, required under Real Property Law Article 9, Section 333. Every time a deed is recorded anywhere in the state, an RP-5217 is generated. No exceptions for size, price, or how many times you’ve done this before.

The form itself is mostly data entry: the property’s location, who bought it, who sold it, the sale price, and a tax billing address. One catch that surprises many first-time filers: because the form includes a scannable 2D barcode, the county clerk will reject it if it’s filled out by hand or printed from anything other than the official PDF. You have to complete it in Adobe Acrobat using the state’s own fillable form, no workarounds. The official instructions from the NY State Department of Taxation and Finance walk through every field.

It is not collecting the transfer tax itself. It is collecting the data that New York uses to keep its statewide property assessment rolls accurate. Think of it as the state’s spreadsheet update, riding along on your deed.

Why does the state need this on top of everything else?

Because the county clerk records your deed and a state agency tracks property values, they are separate offices.In New York, these offices were not set up to share data automatically. RP-5217 is the manual bridge.

Per the Department of Taxation and Finance’s own FAQ page, the form matters enough that “complete data for items C1 through C4” is called out specifically, because mismatched entries break the state’s ability to match local records to its own. It’s bureaucratic plumbing, but it’s plumbing someone actually checks.

How is RP-5217 different from NYC-RPT and TP-584?

Here is the part that trips up almost everyone: buyers, sellers, and more than a few brand-new paralegals. All three forms are filed around the same closing. All three have “real property” and “transfer” in their names. However, they serve three different functions.

So, RP-5217 is a report, TP-584 is the state’s tax return, and NYC-RPT is the city’s separate tax return. Three forms, three different governments wanting three different things from the same signature page. Nobody designed this on purpose; it just accreted.

Per NY State Department of Taxation and Finance guidance on TP-584, the recording officer cannot even accept a deed until TP-584 (or proof that the tax was paid) is in hand. Same story for NYC-RPT within the city, as confirmed on the NYC Department of Finance’s RPTT page: the return must be filed within 30 days of the transfer, taxable or not.

How do you actually file RP-5217 in NYC?

For Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, you don’t mail a paper RP-5217 anywhere. You file it online through ACRIS, the city’s Automated City Register Information System. You submit it with your deed and your NYC-RPT.

Staten Island is the outlier. It runs on the county clerk system, not ACRIS, so it uses a separate paper form: RP-5217-NYC, with its own instructions published by the NYC Department of Finance. Same data, different pipeline.

If you start from the ACRIS main menu, use the e-Forms section. It generates all three documents (RP-5217, TP-584-NYC, and NYC-RPT). They are created as one linked packet before recording. Filing fees are $125 for residential and farm properties and $250 for all other properties, per the state’s fee schedule.

What if the form is missing or wrong?

The recording officer can and will reject the deed. That means the sale doesn’t legally close on paper, even if money has already moved. An incorrect sale price or a wrong buyer name on RP-5217 can affect the property’s assessed value later. This may show up two years later as a confusing tax bill.

Where does this fit into researching a property on ACRIS?

If you’re looking up a property’s history rather than filing a new deed, you’ll run into RP-5217 data indirectly. An ACRIS search by address retrieves the recorded deed and associated transfer documents, and the sale price on file usually matches the amount reported on RP-5217 and TP-584 at closing.

That search is one small piece of a much bigger record system. Once you have a property’s BBL, the same number pulls up its current tax bill and payment history. For the full walkthrough of what ACRIS holds and how to pull deeds, mortgages, and liens by address or party name, see our ACRIS guide.

FAQ

Do I need to file RP-5217 for a co-op sale?
No. Co-ops are shares in a corporation, not real property, so they don’t get a recorded deed and don’t trigger RP-5217. Condos and houses do.

Is RP-5217 the same as the ACRIS cover page?
No. The ACRIS cover page is a separate summary sheet generated for every recorded document in NYC. RP-5217 is filed alongside it as one of the required forms in the package, not a substitute for it.

Who fills out RP-5217, the buyer or the seller?
In practice, the closing attorney or title company prepares it using information from both sides. Buyer and tax billing details come from the grantee; sale details come from the transaction itself.

Does RP-5217 cost money to file?
Yes. The state charges a filing fee. It is usually $125 for residential and farm properties. It is $250 for other property types. This is according to the Department of Taxation and Finance.

Is RP-5217 required outside New York City too?
Yes, statewide. Every county recording a deed requires it, not just the five boroughs. The filing process varies (ACRIS in NYC, except Staten Island). Elsewhere in New York, filings are on paper or through county e-filing. The requirement is the same across New York.

Quick answer: You can look up any NYC property’s tax bill for free through the Department of Finance’s Property Tax Bills and Payments portal, using either the address or the property’s BBL (borough-block-lot) number. The same BBL is what links that tax record to the property’s deed and mortgage history in ACRIS and to the RP-5217 transfer report filed at closing.

Where do you actually look up an NYC tax bill?

The official tool is the Property Tax Bills and Payments portal, run by the NYC Department of Finance (DOF). Search by address or BBL, and you’ll get quarterly or semi-annual statements, the current bill, and payment history going back several years. Searching by address has a formatting quirk: drop ordinals like “st,” “th,” or “nd” from the street number, and spell out directionals (“West” rather than “W”). If the address search still comes up empty, the building’s marketing address sometimes differs from its legal one, so switch to a BBL search instead.

DOF also runs the newer Property Information Portal, which pulls tax bills, the Notice of Property Value (NOPV), and other property details into one dashboard. Either one works. The Property Information Portal is nicer to look at; the Bills and Payments portal is faster if you already know the BBL.

Don’t know the BBL? The NYC Property Tax System lookup converts a street address to a BBL in a single search, and the same number carries over to ACRIS.

Why does the assessed value on your bill look nothing like what your apartment is worth?

Because in NYC it isn’t supposed to. In most places, assessed value closely tracks market value. NYC does something stranger: it takes a fraction of market value depending on your property class, and that fraction is where the confusion starts.

Class 1 (mostly one-, two-, and three-family homes) gets assessed at 6% of market value. Classes 2, 3, and 4 (co-ops, condos, larger rentals, utilities, commercial) get assessed at 45%. A $1,000,000 class 1 house appears on paper with an assessed value of roughly $60,000.

That’s not a typo, and it’s not your house being undervalued. It’s the formula. If you’ve ever seen an NYC tax bill and thought “there’s no way this place is only worth what this line says,” you’re reading the assessed value, not the market value. There are two different numbers on the same page, and DOF genuinely could label this better.

There’s a second layer: transitional assessed value. NYC phases in large jumps in assessment over five years instead of all at once, so the number your tax is actually calculated on can lag behind the “current” assessed value shown elsewhere on your notice. This is also why two nearly identical apartments in the same building sometimes carry different tax bills: one owner bought recently, and the phase-in hasn’t caught up yet.

The full breakdown of both numbers arrives once a year on your Notice of Property Value (NOPV), before the tax bill itself.

What are exemptions and abatements, and why does your bill have both?

They sound interchangeable. They’re not, and the difference is where the math happens.

An exemption reduces your assessed value before the tax rate is applied. Less taxable value, smaller bill, calculated earlier in the process.

An abatement reduces the final dollar amount of tax owed after the rate has been applied. Same effect on your wallet, different point in the calculation, and that’s exactly why line items with both types on the same bill can look inconsistent if you’re trying to eyeball the math yourself.

The exemptions and abatements you’ll actually see on an NYC bill:

• STAR (School Tax Relief): for an owner-occupied primary residence under the income cap. Reduces assessed value, shows up as a STAR exemption line.
• Cooperative and Condominium Tax Abatement: for owner-occupied co-op and condo units, applied by the building’s managing agent, not filed individually by each owner. Cuts 17.5% to 28.1% off the tax bill, depending on the average unit value in the building. A building can’t have this abatement and 421-a, J-51, or a few other commercial benefits at the same time. See the Cooperative and Condominium Tax Abatement page for eligibility.
• 421-a: a construction-era abatement for newer residential buildings, phasing out over a set number of years. If you bought new construction and your tax bill jumps noticeably a few years in, this is usually why.
• J-51: a renovation-driven abatement for buildings that did qualifying rehab work or were converted from commercial to residential use.

DOF publishes property-class-specific guides that walk through every line a bill can carry, worth skimming once: the Class 1 guide and the Class 2 guide cover homes versus co-ops and condos, respectively.

How do you check your payment history, not just the current bill?

The same Property Tax Bills and Payments portal holds your statement history. Pull it up by BBL or address, and you’ll see every quarterly or semi-annual statement, whether it was paid, and whether anything is currently overdue.

This matters more than it sounds like it should. Buyers checking a property before closing and owners disputing a late fee both need this history, and it’s the one place DOF keeps it official and up to date, unlike a title report, which is only accurate as of the date it was pulled.

How does your tax bill connect back to ACRIS?

Through the BBL. It’s the one identifier that runs through everything the city tracks about a property, tax bills, ACRIS deed and mortgage records, DOB filings, HPD violations, all of it point back to the same borough-block-lot number.

Once you have a property’s BBL from a tax bill, you can drop it straight into ACRIS to pull the deed history, mortgages, and liens on record. Conversely, if you’re starting from an ACRIS deed search and want the current tax standing, use the BBL on that document to search the tax portal. Same number, two different city systems, one property.

For the full walkthrough of what ACRIS holds, deeds, mortgages, and liens, searchable by BBL or address, see our ACRIS guide.

FAQ

Where do I find my NYC DOF property tax bill online?
Through the Property Tax Bills and Payments portal or the Property Information Portal, searchable by address or BBL. Both are official DOF tools.

Why is my assessed value so much lower than what I’d sell my home for?
Because NYC assesses class 1 homes (one-, two-, and three-family) at 6% of market value, and classes 2 through 4 at 45%. It’s a fraction of the market value by design, not a mistake on your bill.

What’s the difference between an exemption and an abatement on my bill?
An exemption lowers your assessed value before the tax rate is applied. An abatement lowers the tax amount after the rate has already been calculated. Same savings, different stage of the math.

How do I check if my property has unpaid taxes or liens?
Payment history and current balance are both in the Property Tax Bills and Payments portal. For recorded liens specifically, cross-check ACRIS using the same BBL.

Does my BBL change if I refinance or sell?
No. The BBL is tied to the physical lot, not the owner or the loan. It remains consistent across sales, refinances, and most renovations, which is exactly what makes it useful for linking tax and ACRIS records over time.

Quick answer: New York’s pied-à-terre tax is a new annual surcharge on non-primary-residence properties in NYC — houses over $5 million and condos/co-ops over $1 million — effective July 1, 2026. Rates range from 0.8% to 6.5% of the full market value, depending on property type and price tier, and are applied to the entire value rather than just the amount over the threshold. Owners have until September 18, 2026 (extended from the original August dates after rollout confusion) to file a primary-residence or qualifying-rental exemption.

If you already know what a pied-à-terre is and you’re deciding whether to buy one, our full pied-à-terre buying guide covers cost, financing, and co-op vs. condo rules. This post is for the other half of that conversation: if you already own one — or are about to — here’s exactly what the tax requires, how to file for an exemption, and what’s currently being challenged in court.

The Pied-à-Terre Tax Rate Schedule

The 40-60 word answer: For the first phase of the tax (July 2026–June 2028), houses are taxed starting at $5 million market value, condos and co-ops starting at $1 million — with three price tiers each, rates from 0.8% up to 6.5%, applied to the property’s full value rather than a marginal bracket-by-bracket calculation.

The mechanism is the detail most worth getting right: this isn’t a marginal, income-tax-style calculation.

A $20 million non-primary house falls in the $15M–$25M bracket, so the full $20 million is taxed at 1.05% — a $210,000 annual bill, not a blended rate across the lower tiers. (Under NY Tax Law Article 30-C, §§1350–1356.)

A second phase takes effect July 1, 2028, through June 2031, when condos and co-ops shift to the same $5 million threshold and 0.8%/1.05%/1.3% schedule as houses, under a new sales-based valuation method the city has not yet finalized. Worth watching, but not yet actionable.

These figures come from law firm analyses of the enacted statute, not the bill text itself, and property tax rules can be revised. Confirm your exact liability with the NYC Department of Finance or a tax professional before budgeting around any number here — including this one.

The Exemption Deadline Was Just Extended to September 18, 2026

The original exemption deadlines (August 21 for houses/condos, August 24 for co-ops) were extended to a single date, September 18, 2026, for every owner who received a Department of Finance notice—a response to public backlash over a confusing initial rollout.

If you own an affected property, file at nyc.gov/npsurcharge. To prove the property is your primary residence, DOF generally wants a federal or state tax return listing the property as your home address; where that’s not available, a driver’s license, voter registration, recent utility bills, or a qualifying long-term lease can serve as alternative documentation.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?

This is the part owners most need to hear clearly: if you don’t respond and an initial DOF determination goes unanswered, it becomes final — you owe the surcharge, and your ability to later contest that determination at the NYC Tax Commission becomes significantly limited.

There’s a separate 30-day window to appeal after DOF issues any initial determination, and in future years, the Tax Commission’s standard annual filing windows apply (generally January 15–March 1, with March 15 for Class 1 properties) — but the September 18 exemption window itself has no stated grace period. If you’re unsure whether your property qualifies, file before the deadline rather than after.

The Tax Is Already Being Challenged in Court

The 40-60 word answer: A lawsuit, O’Brien v. City of New York, was filed on August 7, 2026, in the Richmond County Supreme Court by three homeowners. It challenges how the Department of Finance is rolling out the tax — not whether the tax itself is constitutional — arguing DOF improperly shifted the burden onto roughly 960,000 property owners to prove they don’t owe it.

That distinction matters for anyone deciding whether to wait this out: even if the lawsuit succeeds, it aims to force DOF to redo its notice process, not to strike down the underlying tax.

Separately, real estate industry sources have signaled a possible future constitutional challenge under the state constitution’s uniformity clause — which limits the state from taxing different property classes unevenly — but as of this writing, no such suit has been filed. That’s a signal worth watching, not grounds to skip filing your exemption.

REBNY didn’t join the lawsuit. The organization submitted written testimony at a July 2026 DOF rulemaking hearing objecting to unclear valuation methodology, and reporting suggests REBNY’s lobbying during the legislative process helped shape the final, lower rate structure compared to earlier proposals.

Pied-à-Terre Tax FAQ

Who actually owes the pied-à-terre tax?

Owners of non-primary-residence properties in NYC above the value thresholds — $5 million for 1-3 family homes, $1 million for condos and co-ops — who don’t qualify for a primary-residence or long-term-rental exemption.

Is the pied-à-terre tax rate marginal, like income tax brackets?

No. The rate for your property’s value tier applies to the entire market value, not just the amount above the threshold — a meaningfully bigger bill than a marginal calculation would produce.

What if I rent out my pied-à-terre long-term?

A genuine long-term lease to an NYC resident can qualify the property for an exemption. Confirm the specific lease length and documentation requirements with the NYC Department of Finance, since a short-term or informal arrangement likely won’t qualify.

Could this tax get struck down or delayed?

Only the exemption filing deadline has been extended so far, not the tax itself. A pending lawsuit challenges the rollout process, not the tax’s legality, and industry groups have signaled a broader constitutional challenge, though it has not yet been filed.

Bottom Line

If you own a qualifying NYC property you don’t live in full-time, the September 18, 2026 exemption deadline is the single most important date on your calendar right now — missing it converts an avoidable filing into a real annual tax bill with limited recourse.

If you’re weighing whether the carrying costs (including this tax) still make sense for your situation, or considering selling instead, NestApple’s rebate model puts real money back in your pocket on either side of that transaction.

A real estate agent rebate is part of the buyer-side commission, returned to you. The seller still pays the full commission. Your agent keeps a working share and gives back the rest, often 25% to 75% of the buy-side fee, as a closing credit or a later check, legal in about 40 states. It’s legal in about 40 states.

The rebate is our whole model. We’ve returned more than $11 million to buyers since 2017, an average of about $22,000 per closing.

The short version: the buyer’s agent kept a working share and handed you the rest.

What is a real estate agent rebate?

It’s a share of your agent’s commission, returned to you. On a resale, the seller pays a total commission that covers both sides. Your agent’s brokerage receives the buy-side portion, then rebates part of it to you.

New York law allows this directly. Real Property Law section 442 lets a broker give “any part of a fee, commission, or other compensation” to the buyer. Whether it’s allowed where you’re buying is covered on our page on commission rebates and their legality.

The rebate doesn’t reduce your service. It’s a share of a fee that the market keeps high, handed to the person who did the searching. What NestApple returns to buyers is one version of it.

How much is a real estate rebate?

A share of a fee that’s already a percentage of a big number, so it adds up fast. The buy-side commission averages about 2.5% of the price today. A rebate of half that on a $1 million home is around $12,500.

Rebate brokerages return anywhere from a quarter to nearly all of the buy-side fee. Yoreevo reports an average of around $24,000 across its deals; Prevu reports about $23,000. Those are their own figures. Ours run about $22,000, more than $11 million since 2017.

The exact amount depends on the price, what the seller offers the buy side, and the share specified in your agreement.

How does a real estate rebate work at closing?

Two ways. A credit on the closing statement, or a check that shows up like a birthday card a week or two after.

• A closing credit. The rebate appears as a credit to you on the Closing Disclosure, with the paying party named. Your lender’s underwriter has to approve it. Lenders usually apply it to closing costs rather than the down payment, and total credits can’t exceed your actual closing costs.
• A post-closing check. Your brokerage receives its commission, then writes you a check for your share. This is common when the rebate exceeds your closing costs.

Either way, it’s disclosed to the lender and shown in writing. Our closing-cost calculators let you model a deal with the rebate applied.

Is a real estate agent rebate taxable?

No. The IRS calls it a discount, and discounts don’t come with a W-2. In Private Letter Ruling 200721013, the IRS held that a rebate “represents an adjustment to the purchase price of the home and generally is not includible in a purchaser’s gross income.”

No 1099 is issued. The rebate reduces your cost basis in the home, which can increase your capital gain if you sell later, though the federal home-sale exclusion usually covers it.

How to negotiate a real estate rebate

Ask before the first showing, not at the closing table. By then, your agent’s fee is set, and there’s nothing to give back.

• Raise it early. A rebate is easiest to agree on when you’re choosing an agent, not after.
• Expect an exclusive agreement. Most rebate brokers ask for one in exchange, which is a fair trade.
• Get it in writing. The share should be a line in your buyer agency agreement, not a promise.
• Confirm the lender is fine with it. A quick call avoids a surprise on the Closing Disclosure.

This page is part of our guide to NYC commissions and rebates.

What we pay

The airport offers twenty-two thousand dollars at a time. The company started when Nicole rebated a full commission to a few buyers who asked, and Georges saw a business in it.

Now it’s a stated share in every agreement. On a $1 million deal at 3% to the buy side, in Georges’s words, “from those 30k we keep 10, we give back 20.” See what NestApple returns to buyers for the current terms.

Common questions

How much is a typical real estate agent rebate? Commonly, 25% to 75% of the buy-side commission. On a $1 million home, that’s often $6,000 to $18,000. Rebate brokerages report averages around $22,000 to $24,000.

How is the rebate paid? As a credit on your closing statement, or a check a week or two after closing. Both are disclosed to your lender.

Is a real estate rebate taxable income? No. The IRS treats it as a reduction in the purchase price, so there’s no 1099. It lowers your cost basis in the home.

Can I get a rebate and still have a real agent? Yes. The seller pays the full commission either way. A rebate broker keeps a working share and returns the rest, with full representation.

The biggest ways to save money buying a house are a commission rebate, shopping your mortgage, negotiating seller credits, cutting the taxes you can, and using first-time buyer programs. On a $1 million home, the rebate alone can be $10,000 to $20,000. Most other guides only tell you how to save for the down payment.

We represent buyers and rebate part of our commission, so we have a stake in one of these. We’ll be clear about which. The rest are levers anyone can pull.

The short version: most guides tell you how to save for the house; this one is about spending less on it.

The commission rebate: the lever nobody lists

It’s the biggest check on the list, and it’s the one nobody mentions. Chase, HomeLight, and the rest skip it entirely.

Here’s how it works. On a resale, the seller pays a commission that covers both agents. In New York and about 40 states, your agent can return part of the buy-side share to you.

It’s legal under Section 442 of the Real Property Law. The Department of Justice has called rebate bans a policy that “artificially inflates the cost of real estate services,” and the IRS treats a rebate as a price cut, not income.

The amount is real money. The buy-side commission averages about 2.5% of the price. A rebate of half that on a $1 million home is roughly $12,500. See what NestApple returns to buyers and how a real estate agent rebate reaches you at closing.

Shop the mortgage, not just the house

One extra phone call is worth about $1,500. Freddie Mac’s research found that getting one additional rate quote saves a typical borrower around $1,500 over the life of the loan. Five quotes bring the average savings to nearly $2,900.

Two things make this work. Your Loan Estimate is a standardized form, so you can compare lenders line by line. And you’re allowed to shop separately for title, survey, and settlement services, which the lender has to list for you.

Seller concessions and credits

The seller would rather credit you than drop the price on the listing. A price cut is public and sets a comp. A closing credit is a contract term nobody else sees.

You can ask the seller to credit money toward your closing costs as part of the offer. Fannie Mae caps these interested-party contributions at 3% to 9% of the price, depending on your down payment. About a quarter of sellers offered a concession in 2024, so it’s a normal ask.

Our page on buyer broker compensation covers how a credit toward your agent’s fee works alongside this.

Cut the taxes you can

You can’t dodge the mansion tax, but you can stop agreeing to the seller’s. In NYC, the buyer pays the mansion tax on homes priced at $1 million or more, starting at 1% and increasing with price. The seller pays the city and state transfer taxes.

The place to push back is new development. Sponsors routinely ask the buyer to pay the sponsor’s transfer taxes, which amount to roughly 1.4% to 1.8% of the price. That’s negotiable, and an attorney who reviews offering plans will flag it.

In New Jersey, the mansion tax shifted to the seller in July 2025, and there’s no exemption below $1 million. Run your deal in our closing-cost calculators.

First-time buyer programs

The city and state are handing out down payments, and the forms are the only catch. NYC first-time homebuyer assistance comes from three places.

• SONYMA (New York State). A below-market mortgage plus a Down Payment Assistance Loan: 0% interest, no monthly payment, forgiven after 10 years, up to $15,000, or up to $30,000 under DPAL Plus.
• NYC HomeFirst. Up to $100,000 toward down payment or closing costs for eligible first-time buyers.
• NJHMFA. Up to $15,000 forgivable after five years, plus $7,000 for first-generation buyers.

All have income and purchase-price limits and require a homebuyer course. They can stack with a commission rebate.

Drop PMI as soon as you can

The insurance that protects your lender, billed to you, has an off switch. If you put down less than 20%, you pay private mortgage insurance, roughly 0.5% to 1% of the loan a year.

Federal law requires the lender to cancel it automatically once you reach 78% loan-to-value. You can request cancellation at 80%. Track your balance and ask; it won’t happen on its own the day you qualify.

What we tell our buyers

Run the whole thing through a calculator before you fall in love with a kitchen. Price the rebate, the mortgage options, the taxes, and any program you qualify for, then look at homes.

The rebate is the one we’re paid to mention, so weigh it accordingly. But the mortgage shopping and the PMI timing cost you nothing and add up. This page is part of our guide to NYC commissions and rebates.

Common questions

What’s the single biggest way to save money buying a house? For most buyers, it’s the mortgage rate, followed by a commission rebate where it’s allowed. On a $1 million home, each can be worth $10,000 or more.

How much can shopping for a mortgage save me? Freddie Mac found that one extra rate quote saves about $1,500 over the loan, and five quotes save close to $2,900 on average.

How do I ask for seller concessions? Include a credit toward closing costs as a term of your offer. Fannie Mae caps it at 3% to 9% of the price depending on your down payment, and about a quarter of sellers offered one in 2024.

Who pays the transfer tax in NYC? The seller pays the city and state transfer taxes. The buyer pays the mansion tax on homes of $1 million or more, and often the sponsor’s transfer taxes on new construction, which are negotiable.

A cashier’s check is acceptable for earnest money in NYC, as are a personal check or a wire transfer. All three are guaranteed or traceable, which is why sellers accept them. Cash almost never is, since it’s nearly impossible to trace in a dispute. The deposit itself is commonly 10% of the purchase price.

We represent NYC buyers, and this is a question we get from almost every out-of-state buyer. The mechanics here are simple once you know them.

Bank-guaranteed funds, whichever form they take, are what a seller’s attorney is really looking for.

Why cash never works for an earnest money deposit

Untraceable is exactly the poor quality here, and that’s the whole reason cash gets rejected. A dispute over whether the deposit was ever paid, or how much was paid, becomes nearly impossible to resolve without a paper trail. Our pillar guide to negotiating in NYC covers where the deposit fits into the broader offer process.

A personal check, certified check, cashier’s check, or wire transfer all leave that trail, the same set of accepted forms Chase’s own earnest money guide lists. That’s why one of them is what a seller’s attorney expects.

How NYC handles earnest money in practice

In NYC, it’s common for a buyer’s attorney to include a personal check alongside the signed purchase contract. The seller’s attorney then deposits it into escrow. Wiring directly to that escrow account works too, and is often simpler for buyers who aren’t local.

What happens if you miss the earnest money deadline

A day of grace, sometimes, but never a guarantee, is the honest answer. If you wire the deposit, follow the exact deadline in your contract. A seller may tolerate a delay of a day or two, but the contract can also give them the right to cancel if you’re late. Treat the deadline as firm.

How does a gift letter affect earnest money timing

Two months old beats two days old, every time, when it comes to gifted funds. If family is gifting money toward your deposit, get it into your account at least two months before applying for a mortgage. Lenders typically require two months of statements to verify large deposits. A gift older than that window generally doesn’t need to be sourced at all.

Signing a contract before the gift arrives is risky. If you can’t deliver the deposit on time, the seller isn’t obligated to wait and could pursue damages if your contract allows it.

Can you get a loan for earnest money?

A lender reads it as the one thing you can’t afford to fake; it’s the real problem with borrowing for a deposit. If you don’t have enough savings to cover earnest money, you likely don’t have enough for the rest of the purchase either. You’ll still need a mortgage regardless.

Banks want their loan to be the senior debt on the property. A loan behind your deposit, secured or not, makes them read your file as riskier.

Earnest money shows real skin in the game. Borrowing it undercuts the entire signal it’s supposed to send.

Is earnest money the same as a down payment

A deposit that becomes part of it, not a separate cost, is the simplest way to think about earnest money. It’s typically credited toward your down payment and closing costs at closing, not an extra expense on top of them. Our down payment guide covers how the two fit together for a typical NYC purchase.

Down payment assistance or a low-down-payment program, if you qualify, can also ease that pressure. Either one can make the earnest money timeline less stressful.

What we tell clients getting their deposit ready

Having it seasoned and ready before you ever sign is the standard we hold every client to. A deposit that’s ready to go the moment a contract is signed keeps your offer from stalling on paperwork rather than terms.

As Georges puts it, “it’s all about the numbers and the execution,” and having your deposit ready to go the moment it’s needed is pure execution. On average, our commission rebate returns roughly $22,000 at closing. Run your full numbers on the closing cost calculators so your deposit and your full budget line up.

Common questions

Can you pay earnest money with a cashier’s check? Yes. A cashier’s check, like a certified check or personal check, is accepted the same way in most NYC transactions.

Why won’t sellers accept cash for earnest money? Cash is nearly impossible to trace or document in a dispute, so sellers and their attorneys almost always require a check or wire instead.

Can I use gifted money for my earnest money deposit? Yes, but get it into your account at least two months before applying for a mortgage, so it doesn’t need to be sourced separately.

Should I take out a loan to cover earnest money? No. Lenders view a borrowed deposit as a red flag, since it undercuts the “skin in the game” purpose earnest money is meant to serve.

Is earnest money separate from my down payment? No. It’s typically credited toward your down payment and closing costs, not an additional cost on top of them.

NJ closing costs split differently between the parties: buyers usually pay loan, title, inspection, survey and escrow charges, while sellers pay the Realty Transfer Fee and, for covered transfers over $1 million, a 1% to 3.5% Graduated Percent Fee. New Jersey shifted that million-dollar fee to sellers on 10 July 2025.

That date matters because many otherwise useful guides still call the charge a buyer mansion tax. The state changed the expensive rule, not merely its name.

Who pays closing costs in New Jersey

New Jersey doesn’t hand one side the whole invoice. Buyer costs follow financing and diligence. Seller costs follow the transfer, payoff and agreements.

The CFPB Closing Disclosure shows who paid each charge in the final transaction. The contract and lender rules decide whether a negotiated credit can move the economics.

For comparison with New York, start at our closing-cost hub. Don’t carry a Manhattan tax into Bergen County because both deals use the word closing.

Buyer closing costs NJ purchasers should budget

A financed buyer can see origination charges, appraisal, credit, lender’s attorney, prepaid interest, tax and insurance escrow, title work, recording, survey and inspection. The lender has several departments and each seems to own a line item.

Use the Loan Estimate to compare lenders. Focus on services you can shop for, lender credits, rate and cash to close together. A low fee paired with a higher rate isn’t automatically cheaper.

Title charges need a current licensed quote. New Jersey regulates title insurance, but the state consumer materials we opened didn’t expose one universal premium percentage. Your property, loan and policy set the actual number.

Buyers and sellers commonly use attorneys, and broker-prepared residential contracts include an attorney-review mechanism. Price that advice as its own line rather than assuming the lender’s or title company’s lawyer represents you.

If you want to model a buyer credit or rebate, our closing-cost calculators let you keep the sources separate.

Seller closing costs NJ owners should budget

The seller’s side can include the Realty Transfer Fee, the Graduated Percent Fee where applicable, mortgage payoff, legal fees, agreed brokerage compensation, municipal or title-clearance work and prorations.

The sale proceeds meet the transfer fee before they meet the seller. If the seller is a nonresident, New Jersey also requires an estimated gross-income-tax payment or the correct exemption or waiver filing. The state describes a payment of at least 2% of consideration in the relevant process.

That 2% is a prepayment or withholding item, not necessarily the final income-tax bill. The same distinction matters for federal FIRPTA withholding when a foreign person sells U.S. real property.

How the New Jersey Realty Transfer Fee works

The seller pays a bracketed fee per $500 of consideration. Bracketed means the calculator earns its keep.

For a transaction over $350,000, the standard schedule starts at $2.90 per $500 through $150,000. It steps through $4.25, $4.80, $5.30 and $5.80 bands, then reaches $6.05 per $500 above $1 million.

The rate isn’t applied as one percentage to the full price. Each slice uses its band. Reduced rates and exemptions can apply in qualifying cases, so the deed and seller status matter.

The NJ Division of Taxation says, “The fee is collected at the time the deed is recorded.” Use its current schedule or the county-clerk calculation rather than an old rule of thumb.

The rule for property over $1 million

P.L. 2025, c.69 took effect on 10 July 2025. For covered classes of real property, the seller now pays a Graduated Percent Fee on the entire consideration:

Calling it the buyer’s mansion tax now dates the article, not the mansion. The percentage applies to the full consideration within the band, not only the dollars above $1 million.

Check whether the property class and transfer are covered. Don’t assume every deed over the threshold gets identical treatment.

Attorney review and the contract clock

New Jersey’s standard broker-prepared residential contracts carry an attorney-review clause. The state Supreme Court describes a three-business-day review period in Conley v. Guerrero.

Three business days is short enough to make Friday afternoon interesting. Send the signed document to counsel immediately. The clause, delivery and any disapproval notice need to be handled correctly.

Attorney review is where you can address inspection timing, financing, credits, included property and other deal terms. It isn’t a free look forever.

How to reduce closing costs in NJ

Compare lender offers using rate, points, credits and five-year cost, not the lender-fee subtotal. A higher rate can make a generous lender credit surprisingly punctual.

Seller credits can fund eligible closing costs within loan-program limits. Fannie Mae caps interested-party contributions by loan-to-value and occupancy. The credit can’t provide the down payment, required contribution or reserves.

A disclosed NestApple buyer rebate can also reduce cash due when the lender and closing documents allow it. It is tied to brokerage compensation, not a refund of whatever fees appeared.

Buyers can also shop title and settlement services where permitted, but cheaper isn’t useful if the quote omits the policy or service you need.

Build the final worksheet locally

Use the property municipality, county, price, loan amount, closing date and seller status. County borders are not spreadsheet borders.

Then collect four live documents: Loan Estimate, attorney quote, title quote and transfer-fee calculation. Add inspections, survey, escrow and prorations from the actual deal.

That produces a defensible NJ closing-cost number. A statewide percentage produces a conversation, then sends you back to those four documents anyway.

For credit mechanics, read our closing-cost credit guide. For a NYC comparison, the mortgage recording tax guide shows one major charge New Jersey buyers don’t calculate the same way.

Common questions

Does the NJ buyer still pay a 1% mansion tax? No. Since 10 July 2025, the seller pays the Graduated Percent Fee on covered transfers over $1 million.

Who pays the standard Realty Transfer Fee? The seller generally pays it when the deed is recorded.

Are NJ attorney fees fixed by the state? No. The quote and engagement scope determine the private fee.

Can a seller credit cover every buyer cost? No. Actual eligible costs, appraisal and loan-program limits control the credit.

A mortgage co-signer signs the loan with the borrower and assumes full legal responsibility for repayment, usually requiring a credit score of 620 or higher. They get no ownership and aren’t on the deed. The loan appears on the co-signer’s credit report and counts against their debt-to-income ratio for the full term.

We represent buyers in New York, where the down payment and a co-op board’s rules push more families toward co-signing than almost anywhere else. Before anyone signs, both sides should understand exactly what a co-signer is on the hook for.

A co-signer isn’t a character reference. They’re a second person the lender can sue for the whole balance. Our down payment and credit hub covers the alternatives that don’t tie up someone else’s credit.

Co-signer vs co-borrower

These two roles get mixed up constantly, and the difference is ownership. One gets a stake in the house; the other gets the paperwork.

A co-borrower shares the loan and the house. A co-signer shares only the loan. Both can be pursued by the lender for missed payments, so from a risk standpoint, they’re identical. The co-borrower at least has an asset to show for it.

Cosigner requirements for a mortgage

The lender screens your rescuer as hard as it screened you. A co-signer submits a full application, including a credit report, income documents, and a list of their own debts.

Practically, a co-signer needs:

• A credit score that meets the loan’s minimum, usually 620 for a conventional loan, and higher for the best rate.
• A debt-to-income ratio, counting the new mortgage payment, that lenders generally want under 43%.
• Stable, documented income.

If the co-signer is already stretched thin, adding your mortgage to their DTI can sink the application rather than save it. Our guide to lowering the debt-to-income ratio applies to the co-signer as well. And before adding anyone, price your deal with a buyer rebate, since more cash at closing can be what lets you qualify on your own.

The loan-type rules for a co-signer

Each program has its own opinion about who’s allowed to help you.

• Conventional: the co-signer signs the note but isn’t required to be on the title. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both allow non-occupant co-borrowers.
• FHA allows non-occupant co-borrowers, but they must be on the title and are usually a close family member. A non-relative needs a letter explaining the connection.
• VA: The only allowed co-obligor is a spouse or another eligible veteran. Most VA borrowers don’t need one.
• USDA: A co-signer can help your debt-to-income ratio but can’t offset a low credit score.

Does cosigning affect your credit?

Yes, and more than people expect. The loan shows up on your report as if it’s yours because, to a lender, it is.

Three things happen to a co-signer’s credit:

1. A hard inquiry when the application is submitted.
2. The full mortgage balance appears as their debt.
3. That balance counts in their debt-to-income ratio when they apply for their own loan later.

So a parent who co-signs for a child may find they can’t qualify for their own refinance or car loan afterward. If the borrower pays on time, the co-signer’s score can actually benefit. If the borrower misses a payment, it lands on both credit reports.

Can a cosigner be removed from a mortgage?

This is the part people don’t plan for. Co-signing is easy to add, stubborn to remove.

There are really only three exits:

• Refinance. The borrower refinances the loan in their own name once they qualify on their own. This is the usual path.
• Sell the home. The sale pays off the mortgage and ends everyone’s liability.
• Loan modification or release clause. Some lenders will remove a co-signer after a stretch of on-time payments, but most mortgages have no release clause at all. Read the note before you assume one exists.

Until one of those happens, the co-signer stays on the loan for its full term.

Should you agree to co-sign?

For the borrower, the upside is real: approval you couldn’t get alone, a better rate, and sometimes a first step toward your own credit history. For the co-signer, the ledger is one-sided.

What the co-signer takes on:

• Full liability. If the borrower stops paying, the lender can come after you first if it thinks that’s the faster way to collect.
• A dented borrowing capacity. The loan counts toward your DTI, so your next mortgage, car loan, or refinance becomes harder to get.
• Relationship risk. Money between a parent and an adult child can sour when a payment is late.

What the co-signer does not get: a share of the home, a place to live, or any tax benefit unless they actually make the payments and hold title. The honest rule is to co-sign only for someone whose payment you would be willing and able to cover yourself, indefinitely.

What we tell families before they co-sign

Our standard advice: help with the down payment first, co-sign last. A gift toward the down payment reduces the loan amount, often enough for the buyer to qualify alone. It doesn’t tie up the parent’s credit for 30 years.

Georges puts it all in one line: “It’s all about the numbers and the execution.” Run the borrower’s numbers as if you were the loan officer. Confirm they can carry the payment on their own income within a year or two, and agree in writing on who pays what.

If co-signing is still necessary, know the New York wrinkle. A co-signer on a co-op purchase usually becomes a co-owner on the stock and lease, a bigger commitment than a co-signer elsewhere. Our guide to a co-signer for a house in New York covers that, and our guide to co-purchasing versus using a guarantor covers the alternatives. If you’re buying with NestApple, the commission rebate is credited at closing and can go toward the down payment instead of a co-signer.

Common questions

What is a mortgage co-signer? Someone who signs the loan alongside the borrower and is fully liable for repayment, but has no ownership stake and isn’t on the deed. The lender uses their income and credit to help the borrower qualify.

What’s the difference between a co-signer and a co-borrower? A co-borrower is on the title and owns part of the home. A co-signer is only on the loan. Both are equally responsible for the debt.

Does co-signing a mortgage hurt my credit? It adds a hard inquiry, puts the full loan balance on your credit report, and raises your debt-to-income ratio for your own future borrowing. On-time payments help your score; missed payments hurt it.

Can a co-signer be removed from a mortgage? Usually only by refinancing the loan into the borrower’s name alone, selling the home, or, rarely, a lender’s release after a period of on-time payments.

Can a co-signer claim the mortgage interest deduction? Only if they actually make the payments and hold an ownership interest in the property. A co-signer who is not on the title and does not pay cannot deduct the interest.

FROG stands for finished room over garage. It’s a heated, finished space above an attached garage, used as an office, playroom, guest room or gym. It is not automatically a bedroom: that needs 70 square feet, a 7 foot ceiling and an escape window of 5.7 square feet, and most FROGs miss at least one.

We buy in Westchester and Connecticut as well as the five boroughs. The FROG is one of the few listing terms that means exactly what it says. What it’s worth is the part that varies.

Where the term comes from, and where you’ll see it

It’s an agent’s acronym, not an architectural one, and it came up from the South with the suburbs. You’ll never see it on a Manhattan listing, because Manhattan doesn’t have attached garages in any number worth inventing a word for.

North of the city it turns up constantly. A colonial with a two-car garage and a room above it is a common Westchester shape.

Is a FROG a bedroom?

Usually not, and one line of code can settle it before you measure anything. IRC R302.5.1: “Openings from a private garage directly into a room used for sleeping purposes shall not be permitted.”

So if the only way in is a door from the garage, it isn’t a bedroom, however convincingly somebody has staged it with a bed and a lamp. No tape measure required.

With interior stairs, the residential code asks for four things:

Most FROGs clear the floor area comfortably. They fail on the ceiling, because the roof is right there and entirely unmoved by your plans, and on the window, because the room sits a storey up over concrete.

That heating rule is worth quoting. R303.10 says “the installation of one or more portable space heaters shall not be used to achieve compliance.” A space heater in the corner is the tell.

All three of the guides ranking above us get this test wrong. One says a bedroom needs “a door that can be closed, at least one window, and a closet.” A closet is not a legal requirement anywhere in the residential code, and “at least one window” is not the standard: the opening has to be 5.7 square feet with those minimum dimensions, or it doesn’t qualify. Getting that wrong is how a room ends up in the listing and out of the appraisal.

Checking that table against the room takes five minutes at a viewing, and it’s the sort of thing somebody representing you does without being asked.

Then there’s the rule most buyers have never heard of. Since 8 August 2025, appraisers must follow ANSI Z765-2021 under Fannie Mae’s selling guide. Space “attached to the dwelling with no direct interior access is reported separately as noncontinuous finished area.”

Plainly: a FROG you reach only by outside stairs doesn’t add square footage on the appraisal. It gets its own line. So a four bedroom house where one is the FROG can appraise as a three bedroom with a smaller number attached.

Look up while you’re standing in the garage, before anyone walks you to the kitchen. Table R302.6 wants 5/8-inch Type X gypsum board between the garage and a habitable room above it. That’s heavier than the half-inch used elsewhere, and ducts crossing the line must not open into the garage. It’s a fire and carbon monoxide barrier, and it’s visible from below.

One more thing to look for down there. Insulation in the garage ceiling that has sagged off the subfloor is the standard failure, and Fine Homebuilding is blunt about the result: batts that fall away and rest on the board below leave a floor assembly with “an R-value of 0.” That’s why the room is freezing, and it’s fixable.

The same distinction governs a legal bedroom in the city, under a different code. The suburban version also shows up in a patio home, where the association decides what you may add.

What it costs to add one

Four questions decide it, and a contractor prices all four in an afternoon. Anyone quoting you before they have seen the roof is quoting the last job they did, which was somebody else’s roof:

Get those four answered before you bid rather than after, which is what a buyer’s agent is for.

What we see in the field

A FROG adds real usable space, and it rarely adds a bedroom. Both are true at once, and the listing usually mentions only the first.

The temperature complaint is the most common one, and it has a standard fix. One owner, 300 sq ft on two ducts and no thermostat: “It’s always 5-10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.” Both HVAC contractors he asked said the same thing, a ductless mini-split, at $3,300 and $3,500 in 2019 money.

Worth having in your head at the viewing, rather than after you own it.

What a room is called and what it legally is are two different things. Only one survives the appraisal.

Common questions

Can a FROG be a legal bedroom? Yes, if it meets the ceiling height and has a qualifying escape window. Many do not, and the roof line is usually the reason.

Does a FROG count in the square footage? Only if it’s finished, heated to the same standard as the house, and reachable from inside. Outside stairs put it on its own line in the appraisal.

Why is the FROG always the wrong temperature? Usually the insulation under the floor, or a duct with no return and no thermostat. The standard fix is its own zone or a ductless mini-split.

Is a FROG the same as a bonus room? FROG is specific about location. Bonus room is not, and can mean a finished attic or a basement instead.

Why does nobody use the term in the city? Because attached garages under living space are rare in the five boroughs. The word follows the building type, and the building type stops around the county line.

Space is easy to add, bedrooms are not

A FROG is genuinely useful and frequently mispriced, in both directions. The gap between a bonus room and a bedroom is a ceiling height and a window, and it is knowable before you make an offer rather than after.

We hand back up to 2% of the purchase price at closing on the buy side. See how the buyer rebate works.