Buyer closing costs in NYC are between 1.5% to 6% of the purchase price.
Buyer closing costs are higher for condos compared to co-ops, and closing costs are
the highest for new developments (also known as sponsor sales).
The largest buyer closing costs in NYC include the Mortgage Recording Tax of 1.8% to 1.925%
on all purchases being financed and the Mansion Tax of 1% to 3.9% on purchases of $1 million
or more.
Other large buyer closing costs include Title Insurance for condos and houses, real estate
attorney fees as well as lender, building and miscellaneous fees.
You can estimate your buyer closing costs in NYC using Hauseit’s interactive closing
cost calculator available at www.hauseit.com.
You can also save money on your purchase by requesting a Hauseit Buyer Closing Credit.
The Mortgage Recording Tax is 1.8% for loans below $500k and 1.925% for loans of $500k
or more.
The actual tax rates are 2.05% and 2.175%, however most banks generally cover 0.25% of
the Mortgage Recording Tax for residential deals.
You can estimate your Mortgage Recording Tax bill using Hauseit’s Interactive Mortgage
Recording Tax Calculator available at www.hauseit.com.
The Mortgage Recording Tax is not applicable to co-ops, as the tax only applies to real
property.
Co-ops are not considered to be real property because a buyer actually purchases shares
in the private corporation that owns the co-op.
Because the Mortgage Recording Tax is based on the loan size as opposed to the purchase
price, you can lower your buyer closing costs by paying all-cash or by increasing the size
of your down payment.
It’s also possible to reduce the Mortgage Recording Tax as a buyer by negotiating a
Purchase CEMA with a seller.
This allows a seller to transfer some or all of an existing mortgage over to you as a buyer,
thereby reducing the amount of new loan money which needs to be originated.
The Mansion Tax is a progressive buyer closing cost applicable to purchases of $1 million
or more which ranges from 1% to 3.9% depending on the purchase price.
You can estimate your Mansion Tax bill using Hauseit’s Interactive Mansion Tax Calculator
available at www.hauseit.com.
Title Insurance is approximately 0.4% to 0.5% of the purchase price.
It’s a one-time fee which provides a buyer with an insurance policy against defects or
future claims against the title of the property being purchased which were unknown at the
time of purchase.
This closing cost does not apply to co-op apartments.
The typical real estate attorney fee for a buyer is between $2,000 to $3,000.
Fees can be higher depending on the complexity of the transaction.
There are also discount lawyers who charge less, however you should be careful that paying
less for your lawyer does not sacrifice quality of your representation.
All condos and co-ops charge buyers a handful of fees when making the purchase.
These may include a board application fee, a move-in fee and/or a move-in deposit.
These fees and deposits are typically no more than $2,000 combined.
If you’re financing, you will need to pay a handful of mortgage-related fees which include
an application fee, an appraisal fee, bank attorney fees and a mortgage recording fee.
The typical bank loan application fee is under $1,000, and the appraisal fee is usually around
$750.
Specific fees vary by bank.