Manhattan Real Estate
A Manhattan apartment purchase can involve building records, board or condominium documents, and more than one transfer-tax line. Review the deal and tax allocation before you sign.
Two Different Forms of Ownership
A co-op purchase transfers shares in a corporation allocated to an apartment, together with the rights described in its proprietary lease. Before signing, review the offering plan and amendments, the proprietary lease, board requirements, building finances, and any transfer charges that apply to this sale.
A condo purchase calls for review of the offering plan when applicable, declaration, bylaws, budget, meeting records, assessments, and the contract's treatment of association charges and any right of first refusal. Match what was represented about the unit and building to the controlling documents.
Before You Sign
Have counsel review the contract and building documents before signing. Confirm the exact apartment or shares being transferred, building approval steps, financing and closing terms, and which taxes and charges the contract assigns to you.
Before signing a sale contract, identify the shares or unit, gather the governing transfer documents, check payoff and building-charge figures, and review how the agreement allocates New York State and City transfer taxes. The statutory default and the contract's allocation can differ.
For a first estimate of sale proceeds, use the seller net-proceeds calculator; confirm the actual payoff and building charges before relying on the estimate.
Manhattan Transfer Taxes
For an individual residential co-op or condo transfer, NYC RPTT is 1% at $500,000 or less and 1.425% above; transfers over $25,000 are subject to the tax.
The New York State base transfer tax is $2 per $500 or fraction when consideration exceeds $500; the grantor generally pays it.
The separate state mansion tax is generally buyer-paid: 1% on residential conveyances of $1 million or more.
For qualifying NYC residential conveyances under rules effective July 1, 2019, the separate state supplemental tax starts at $2 million (rates 0.25%–2.9%); the separate additional base tax starts at $3 million and is $1.25 per $500 or fraction. These post-2019 taxes have different statutory payors.
Use the closing-cost calculator for a planning estimate, and the CEMA calculator if the transaction involves a refinance. Both tools provide estimates; have deal-specific figures and contract allocations reviewed before relying on them.
Legal Fees
Fees vary by transaction. Third-party costs are separate and itemized.
Manhattan Questions
A co-op buyer receives corporation shares allocated to an apartment and a proprietary lease. Review that building's plan, lease, and transfer requirements.
Have counsel review the contract, applicable offering plan and amendments, governing documents, building finances, and transfer steps.
The NYC Department of Finance rate schedule for individual residential co-ops and condos is summarized above; other transfer types can use different schedules.
No. The state mansion tax and NYC supplemental tax are separate taxes with different thresholds and rate rules; see the breakdown above.
No. The closing-cost calculator and CEMA calculator are planning estimates. A final closing statement depends on the transaction documents and current figures.