Guides · Forms · Glossary

Know how it works before you sign.

Buying, selling or renting in New York comes with its own steps and its own paperwork. We put the basics in one place, in plain language, so you know what's coming and what to ask.

For buyers

Buying a home in New York

On Long Island and in New York City, the seller's attorney usually writes the contract, and your own attorney reviews it before you commit. Here is the usual path from your first showing to the keys.

  1. Get pre-approved

    A lender reviews your income, credit and savings and tells you in writing how much you can likely borrow. Sellers take an offer more seriously when a pre-approval letter comes with it.

  2. Sign a buyer agreement, then tour

    Since August 2024, agents who belong to the MLS need a written agreement with you before you tour homes together. It says what the agent will do and how the agent gets paid. Broker fees are not set by law and are negotiable, so read it and ask questions.

  3. Make an offer

    Your agent presents your price and terms to the seller's side. An accepted offer is good news, but on its own it is not a contract. Don't sign a binder or offer form unless it says it is subject to your attorney's approval, because a signed paper can be binding.

  4. Inspect before you sign

    In our area, buyers usually have the home inspected after the offer is accepted and before the contract is signed. That way any problems can be negotiated first.

  5. Sign the contract

    The seller's attorney drafts the contract of sale. Your attorney reviews it, checks the property's records and negotiates changes. When you sign, you pay a contract deposit, often around 10% of the price, which is held in escrow. The deal is binding once the seller signs too.

  6. Get the mortgage commitment

    Your lender orders an appraisal, verifies your paperwork and issues a written commitment. Most contracts include a mortgage contingency, which gives you a set number of days to get it. Your attorney watches that deadline.

  7. Title, walk-through and closing

    A title company searches the public records for liens and other problems, and you buy title insurance. Right before closing you do a final walk-through. At the closing table you sign the loan papers, pay your closing costs and get the keys.

What your attorney does

Most buyers here hire their own real estate attorney. Your attorney works for you, not for the seller, the lender or the agents.

  • Reviews and negotiates the contract of sale
  • Checks the property's records, like permits and the certificate of occupancy
  • Orders the title search and reviews the title report
  • Tracks your mortgage contingency and other deadlines
  • Represents you at closing and explains every document you sign

Closing costs in Nassau, at a high level

Every deal is different. Your lender's Loan Estimate and your attorney will give you the real numbers. These are the big items and who customarily pays them.

Buyers usually pay

  • Attorney feeYour own attorney, agreed up front.
  • Title insuranceAn owner's policy and the lender's policy. The state regulates the rates.
  • Mortgage recording taxCharged on the loan amount. Nassau's total rate is 1.05%. On a one-to-six family home the lender pays 0.25% of that, so the buyer's share is usually about 0.8%.
  • Mansion tax1% of the full price when a home sells for $1 million or more. Below $1 million, there is none.
  • Lender and recording feesAppraisal and loan charges, plus county fees to record the deed and mortgage.
  • Prepaids and adjustmentsMoney for your tax and insurance escrow, plus your share of any taxes the seller already paid.

Sellers usually pay

  • NYS transfer tax0.4% of the price, which is $2 for every $500. Customarily paid by the seller.
  • Attorney feeYour own attorney, agreed up front.
  • Broker commissionSet in your listing agreement. Commissions are not set by law and are negotiable.
  • Mortgage payoffWhatever you still owe on your loan, paid from the sale.

Closing costs are different in New York City, including Queens neighborhoods like Fresh Meadows and Woodhaven. The city adds its own transfer tax of 1% or 1.425%, and its mortgage recording tax is higher than Nassau's. The state's mansion tax also rises in steps from $2 million, and the state transfer tax goes up to 0.65% from $3 million. Ask your attorney.

Buying a co-op works differently. A co-op loan is not a recorded mortgage, so there is no mortgage recording tax, and the co-op board has to approve the buyer. Ask your attorney.

First-time buyer help

The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) offers 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and down payment help for qualified buyers. You apply through a participating lender, not through SONYMA directly.

  • Achieving the DreamSONYMA's lowest rates, for lower-income first-time buyers.
  • Low Interest Rate ProgramA low down payment and competitive rates for first-time buyers.
  • Down Payment Assistance Loan (DPAL)A 0% add-on loan for the down payment, closing costs or mortgage insurance, used with a SONYMA mortgage.

SONYMA treats you as a first-time buyer if you haven't owned your primary home in the past three years. That rule is waived for eligible veterans and in federally designated target areas. Income and price limits apply and vary by region. Learn more at hcr.ny.gov/sonyma or 1-800-382-4663.

After you move in, register for New York's STAR school tax credit if you qualify. New owners have to sign up. It isn't automatic. Register with the state.

Try the payment estimator Call 516-777-0385

For sellers

Selling a home in New York

A sale goes smoother when the price is honest and the paperwork is ready before the first showing. Here's what to expect.

  1. Price it from real sales

    The right price comes from recent comparable sales near you, the condition of your home and what buyers are paying now. Start with a free home valuation from our team.

  2. Get the house ready

    Fix what buyers will notice, like leaks, broken fixtures and peeling paint. Declutter, clean and let the light in. Ask us before you take on a big project.

  3. Gather your paperwork

    Your deed, recent tax bills, mortgage payoff details, any survey, and permits or certificates of occupancy for work done on the house. Open permits can hold up a closing, so check early.

  4. Disclosures, then the listing agreement

    Before you sign anything, we give you the state's agency and fair housing disclosure forms. Then you sign a listing agreement with the brokerage. For most homes you also fill out the Property Condition Disclosure Statement, explained below.

  5. Offers and the contract

    When you accept an offer, your attorney drafts the contract of sale and negotiates it with the buyer's attorney. The buyer's deposit is held in escrow until closing.

Seller disclosure

The Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS)

New York requires most sellers of one-to-four family homes to fill out and sign this state form about the home's condition, and to get it to the buyer before the buyer signs a binding contract.

  • The $500 credit option is gone. Since March 20, 2024, sellers can no longer skip the form by giving the buyer a $500 credit at closing.
  • It asks about flooding. There are questions on FEMA flood zones, flood insurance, past flood damage claims and federal flood assistance.
  • Use the current form. The state updated it again, and the revised version has been required since July 1, 2025.
  • Keep it accurate. If you learn something before closing or move-in that makes an answer wrong, you have to give the buyer a revised statement.
  • “As is” doesn't replace it. You can agree to sell as is, but the form is still required.
  • Some transfers are exempt. Examples include court-ordered sales, foreclosures, estate sales handled by an executor, transfers between co-owners or to a spouse, parent or child, and brand-new homes nobody has lived in.
Official PCDS form (PDF)

What happens at closing

  • You sign the deed and the transfer tax paperwork, including New York's form TP-584.
  • Outside New York City, the state transfer tax is 0.4% of the price, paid from your proceeds. Selling in the city? The city adds its own transfer tax, so ask your attorney for your numbers.
  • Your mortgage and any liens are paid off from the sale.
  • Property taxes and similar bills are split as of the closing date.
  • The broker commission is paid as your listing agreement says.
  • The buyer gets the keys, and you receive what's left after the payoffs and costs.
What's my home worth? Call 516-777-0385

For renters

Renting in New York

Our step-by-step rental guide has its own page. Here are the basics every renter in New York should know.

  • No application fees, only a capped screening fee.A landlord can't charge you to process an application. The only allowed charge is for a background or credit check: the actual cost or $20, whichever is less, and only if you get a copy of the check and the receipt. Bring a background or credit check from the past 30 days and that fee has to be waived.
  • For most rentals, the deposit can't be more than one month's rent.The deposit has to be returned within 14 days after you move out, with an itemized list of anything kept.
  • Vouchers and assistance count as income.New York law has banned source-of-income discrimination in nearly all housing since 2019. Section 8 and other housing vouchers, Social Security, child support and public assistance all count.
  • You'll get state disclosure forms.When you rent through an agent, you get the state's fair housing disclosure. If the home is in a one-to-four family house, a condo or a co-op, you get the agency disclosure too. Signing the fair housing form only confirms you received it. On the agency form, check whether any dual agency box is marked before you sign.
How to rent with us Start your application

Required forms

New York's disclosure forms, in plain language

New York requires agents to give you certain forms early on, and requires most sellers of one-to-four family homes to fill out a statement about the home's condition. None of them are contracts. They tell you who the agent works for, what your rights are and what the seller knows about the home.

DOS-1736 · DOS-1735

Agency disclosure form

Tells you who the agent represents: the seller or landlord, the buyer or tenant, or both. An agent can represent both sides, called dual agency, only if both give informed consent in writing.

In dual agency with designated sales agents, the brokerage assigns a different agent to each side. Either way, a dual agent cannot give either side undivided loyalty.

Signing it confirms you received it. It is not a contract. The same form also has boxes for agreeing to dual agency in advance, so look at what is checked before you sign. You may get more than one in a deal, because each agent involved may have to give you one.

Buyer and seller form (PDF) Formulario para comprador y vendedor (PDF en español) Landlord and tenant form (PDF) Formulario para dueño e inquilino (PDF en español)

DOS-2156

Housing and Anti-Discrimination Disclosure Form

Explains your fair housing rights. Agents must give it to every buyer, seller, tenant and landlord when they first start talking business, for every type of property.

Under the state's current fair housing notice, it is illegal to discriminate in housing based on characteristics that include race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, age, disability, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence, lawful source of income or familial status.

Agents also can't steer people toward or away from neighborhoods, or go along with a seller's or landlord's discriminatory wishes.

To file a complaint, call the NYS Division of Human Rights at 844-862-8703 or the Department of State at 518-474-4429.

Official form (PDF) Formulario oficial (PDF en español) Posted fair housing notice (PDF)

DOS-1614

Property Condition Disclosure Statement

For sellers of most one-to-four family homes. The seller fills it out and delivers it before the buyer signs the contract.

What sellers need to know

Our team gives you these forms as the law requires, and we are happy to walk you through them. Questions about your legal rights under a contract or lease are for an attorney.

Glossary

Common terms,
in plain words.

The words you'll hear from agents, lenders and attorneys, each explained in a sentence or two.

Accepted offer
The seller has agreed to your price and terms. On Long Island and in New York City the real deal is the contract both sides sign. Don't sign a binder or offer form without your attorney's OK.
Appraisal
The lender's independent opinion of the home's value. If it comes in low, the loan amount can change.
Buyer agreement
A written agreement between you and your agent that spells out the services and the pay. Needed before you tour homes with an MLS agent.
Certificate of occupancy (CO)
A document from the local building department showing a building, or work done on it, was approved for use. That's the town, village or city, or the Department of Buildings in New York City.
Closing
The meeting where the money changes hands, the deed is signed over and the buyer gets the keys.
Closing costs
The fees and taxes paid at closing, on top of the price or the down payment.
Contract deposit
The money a buyer puts down when signing the contract, often around 10% of the price, held in escrow until closing.
Contract of sale
The binding agreement between buyer and seller, drafted and negotiated by their attorneys.
Co-op
You buy shares in a corporation that owns the building, plus the right to live in your unit. A board has to approve buyers.
Condo
You own your unit outright, plus a share of the common areas, and pay monthly common charges.
Down payment
The part of the price you pay yourself. The loan covers the rest.
Dual agency
One brokerage represents both buyer and seller in the same deal. It needs informed written consent from both.
Escrow
Money held by a neutral party, often an attorney, until the conditions of the deal are met.
Lease
The contract between landlord and tenant that sets the rent, the term and the rules. Read every page before you sign.
Mansion tax
A New York State tax the buyer pays when a home sells for $1 million or more. It is 1% of the price, except in New York City, where it rises in steps from $2 million.
Mortgage commitment
The lender's written promise to make your loan, usually with conditions to meet before closing.
Mortgage contingency
A contract clause that lets the buyer cancel, and usually get the deposit back, if they can't get a mortgage commitment in time.
Mortgage recording tax
A tax on the loan amount, paid when the mortgage is recorded with the county.
PMI
Private mortgage insurance. Lenders usually require it on a conventional loan when you put down less than 20%.
Pre-approval
A lender's written statement of how much you can likely borrow, based on your documents and credit.
Security deposit
Money a tenant pays up front to cover damage or unpaid rent. For most New York rentals it can't be more than one month's rent.
Survey
A drawing of the property's boundaries, buildings and fences, used to spot problems like encroachments.
Title insurance
Protects the owner and the lender against problems with the ownership record, like old liens or errors in past deeds.
Title search
A review of public records to confirm the seller can pass clean ownership to the buyer.
Transfer tax
New York State's tax on the sale, customarily paid by the seller. It is 0.4% of the price for most homes. New York City adds its own transfer tax.
Walk-through
Your last look at the home right before closing, to make sure it is in the condition the contract calls for.

Tools

Run the numbers,
then give us a call.

A few useful tools, ours and the state's.

Plan APayment estimatorSee an estimated monthly principal and interest payment. Plan AFree home valuationSend an address and get a real read on what the home is worth. Plan AHow to rent with usOur step-by-step guide for renters. Plan AClient portalLog in to fill out forms and send documents. New York StateSONYMA mortgagesState programs for first-time buyers. New York StateSTAR creditRegister after you buy your primary home. New York StateTenants' rights guideThe Attorney General's guide for renters. New York StateSource-of-income rightsHow the law protects renters who use vouchers or assistance.

Questions?

Talk to us before
you sign anything.

Call the office. Alex works in English and Spanish.

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