NYC Purchase CEMA Savings Calculator

A Consolidation, Extension, and Modification Agreement lets a buyer’s lender assume the seller’s existing mortgage note and consolidate it with new financing into a single loan, rather than the seller paying off their loan and the buyer originating an entirely fresh one.

Mortgage Recording Tax is normally owed on the entire new loan amount. With a CEMA, the assumed portion of the seller’s existing mortgage is treated as already-taxed debt, so MRT is only owed on the new money above that balance.

Less well known: under a Purchase CEMA, the seller doesn’t owe NY State Transfer Tax on the portion of the loan assigned to the buyer — only on the remaining taxable consideration. This is a separate savings stream from the buyer’s MRT savings, and benefits the seller directly.

On condo and 1-3 family residential mortgages, the lender customarily pays about 0.25% of the Mortgage Recording Tax, leaving the buyer responsible for a net 1.8%/1.925%. That customary split doesn’t apply to 4+ family or commercial mortgages, where the buyer is typically responsible for the full rate — this calculator adjusts automatically based on your selection.

A CEMA requires the seller’s existing lender to cooperate, which not all lenders will do, and it adds legal complexity and administrative cost (and often takes longer) compared to a standard payoff-and-refinance. It’s usually only worth pursuing when the tax savings clearly outweigh the extra legal fees and timeline risk — ask your attorney.