NYC Property Records,
New York City, block by lot
New York City keeps its own land records. These guides cover ACRIS, the city's online register; borough, block and lot numbers; condominium master and unit lots; the tax lien sale; and the HPD and DOB violations a buyer should check.
Condo Master Lot vs Unit Lot: Why a Title Search Shows 40 Mortgages
A NYC condominium has two kinds of tax lot: unit lots numbered 1001 to 6999, one per apartment, and a billing or master lot numbered 7501 to 7599 covering the whole complex. Searching at building scope returns every unit’s mortgage, so a report showing 40 mortgages on one condo unit is a scope error, not a lien problem.
Read the guide · 12 min readHow to Read ACRIS: A Practical Guide to NYC Property Records
ACRIS is the New York City Office of the City Register’s Automated City Register Information System, the online index of recorded property documents for Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens from 1966 forward. Search it by borough-block-lot, not by address. Each document is split across separate Master, Legals and Parties records that only make sense joined on document_id.
Read the guide · 12 min readNYC HPD and DOB Violations: What They Mean for a Buyer
HPD issues housing-maintenance violations on residential buildings in classes A (non-hazardous), B (hazardous), C (immediately hazardous) and I (orders). DOB issues construction and equipment violations plus OATH summonses in classes 1, 2 and 3. Open violations attach to the building, not the seller. Paying the penalty does not close them.
Read the guide · 12 min readThe NYC Tax Lien Sale: How Properties End Up on the List
New York City’s tax lien sale transfers unpaid property tax, water and sewer, and HPD repair debt, with accrued interest, from the City to a City-created Tax Lien Trust. The City sells the debt, not the property, and only to that single authorized buyer, never to individual investors. An unresolved sold lien can lead to foreclosure.
Read the guide · 11 min readWhat Is a BBL? NYC Borough-Block-Lot Explained
A BBL is the 10-digit Borough-Block-Lot number that identifies every tax lot in New York City: one borough digit (1 Manhattan, 2 Bronx, 3 Brooklyn, 4 Queens, 5 Staten Island), a five-digit tax block, and a four-digit tax lot, each zero-padded. The Empire State Building is BBL 1008350041: borough 1, block 835, lot 41.
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