State records guide

Title research in New York

Facts below are taken from New York statutes and official sources, each linked, each checked on the date shown. General information, not legal advice.

What a New York title search has to account for

Where are New York deeds recorded, and why does it matter?

Section 291 of the Real Property Law says a conveyance may be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county where the land is situated, and refers to the city registrar where applicable. A conveyance not recorded is void against a later good-faith purchaser for valuable consideration, from the same vendor or the vendor's distributees or devisees, whose conveyance is recorded first.

The state's courts count 62 counties. In New York City, the Department of Finance says the Office of the City Register records deeds, mortgages and leases for the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, and sends Staten Island documents to the Richmond County Clerk. The report traces the chain of title as far back as the county's records go, with document images of the key instruments.

How does a New York mortgage foreclosure reach the auction block?

Foreclosure here works through a court action. Section 1351 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law has the judgment direct that the mortgaged premises be sold by or under the direction of the sheriff of the county or a referee, within ninety days of the date of the judgment. Section 1331 has the plaintiff file a notice of pendency in the clerk's office of each county where the property is situated, at least twenty days before a final judgment directing a sale.

The court system's guidance states the owner's right of redemption plainly: the sale can be stopped at any time up until the home is sold by coming up with the money owed, and once the sale is complete the home is lost. Section 231 adds a separate step, letting the court set a sale aside within one year for failure to follow that section's rules on notice, time or manner, if a substantial right of a party was prejudiced. An auction title report for a New York sale reports the foreclosing lien's position, IRS liens and the liens that would survive, in dollars, for the bidder's attorney.

What happens to a New York property when the taxes go unpaid?

Under Article 11 of the Real Property Tax Law, delinquent taxes are enforced through an in rem foreclosure proceeding in court. Section 1104 says the article does not apply to a county, city or town that kept its own charter, code or special law procedure by a timely local law, so the first question is which procedure governs the parcel. Where the article applies, section 1136 has the final judgment direct a deed conveying full and complete title to the tax district or, at the enforcing officer's request, directly to another party. Where another tax district has an interest and the districts do not agree on a conveyance, the court directs a sale at public auction by the enforcing officer.

The redemption clock is set by section 1110. The period expires two years after the lien date. A tax district may increase it for residential or farm property, or reduce it to one year for residential vacant and abandoned property placed on a roll, registry or list before the taxes become delinquent, and a later date specified in the section 1124 notice controls. Section 1136 bars persons who held an interest or lien in the parcel, unless the conveyance is expressly made subject to tax liens of a tax district, and it reinstates those interests if the district conveys the parcel back to the former owner after judgment. The same section keeps open their claim, under section 1135 or Title 6 of the article, to a share of any surplus from the sale.

Surplus is now a step in the record. Within forty-five days after the sale of tax foreclosed property, section 1196 has the enforcing officer determine whether a surplus results and its amount: the taxes, interest, penalties and charges due are subtracted from the price at a public sale, or from the full value of the property where the sale was not public, and property a tax district keeps for a public use is deemed sold on the date the officer was notified. Under section 1197, anyone who held a right, title, interest, claim, lien or equity of redemption just before the judgment may file a claim with the court for a share, distributed as in a mortgage foreclosure under article 13 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, and after a public sale the amount paid is accepted as the full value. An auction title report states the surviving liens, taxes and assessments in dollars and the state redemption rules.

Can a New York owner pass a house to an heir without probate?

Yes. Section 424 of the Real Property Law authorizes a transfer on death deed, under which an individual may transfer property to one or more beneficiaries effective at the transferor's death. The deed must be signed by two witnesses, acknowledged before a notary public and recorded before the owner dies, and it remains revocable. A beneficiary who does not survive the transferor takes nothing, and a surviving joint owner takes ahead of the deed.

For an heir or an estate attorney, the questions are whether such a deed was recorded, whether a revocation or a later deed followed it, and what the beneficiary took subject to, because the section passes the property subject to the mortgages, liens and other interests that bound it at death. Subdivision 14 also lets the estate enforce liability against the property if the probate estate cannot satisfy allowed claims or statutory allowances, in a proceeding begun within eighteen months after death. The section leaves other methods of transfer in place. A probate title search finds the decedent's property by name and reports vesting at death, how title passes and the liens to pay.

How do divorce and condominium charges affect a New York title?

Domestic Relations Law section 236 has the court determine the parties' rights in their separate or marital property and provide for its disposition in the final judgment, with marital property distributed equitably between the parties, considering the circumstances of the case. Section 235 limits access to the file: a court officer may not let anyone other than a party or the party's counsel take a copy of the judgment, except by court order. The report therefore states the deeds and other instruments of record that it finds, and what a judgment requires is for the parties' attorneys.

Condominiums have their own rule. Section 339-z of the Real Property Law gives the board of managers a lien on each unit for unpaid common charges, prior to all other liens except tax liens, all sums unpaid on a first mortgage of record, and certain subordinate mortgages of record held by the public agencies it lists. The declaration of an exclusive non-residential condominium may make the lien superior to any mortgage liens of record. Section 339-aa makes the lien effective on filing a verified notice of lien, for up to six years. A grantor or grantee of a unit may get a statement of the unpaid charges from the manager or board, and the report states any recorded notice of lien it finds.

Which package fits a New York property?

Every package covers New York property wherever it is recorded. Pick by situation:

• Probate law firm: Find every property a decedent held, how it was vested and what has to be paid before it passes. $595 per estate.
• Real estate law firm: A preliminary report with schedule-style exceptions and print-ready exhibits for your matter. $695 per property.
• Builders and developers: Multi-parcel research on access, easements, restrictions, mineral reservations and entity ownership. $995 first parcel.
• Auction buyer: Know the total cost to own, which liens survive the sale and whether to bid at all. $395 for 1 property.
• Home buyer: Confirm the seller owns the home and learn what has to be cleared before you pay. $449 per property.
• Home seller: Find the old mortgage, judgment or name mismatch before a buyer's title company does. $449 per property.

Questions about New York title research