Recording tax is on the loan
New York City charges mortgage recording tax on the mortgage amount, not the purchase price, and the rate steps at $500,000. Worked tables are on the closing-cost page.
Independent · New York City
Borrowing in New York City
has its own rules.
Recording tax that no other state charges. Co-ops that are not mortgages. A refinance mechanism that exists only here. National guides get all of it wrong. These do not — every figure is sourced, dated, and linked back to the agency or the firm that published it.
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Start with what you are doing
Buying a home
Buying a home in NYC
Co-op share loans, condo and house mortgages, CEMA on a refinance, and the closing-cost math that only exists in New York.
6 guides · 5 lenders listed
Investing
Investing in NYC property
Hard money, bridge, and DSCR financing on five-borough investment property. Business-purpose lending, usually to an entity rather than a person.
5 guides · 16 lenders listed
Business capital
Financing an NYC business
Term loans, lines of credit, SBA programs, and the City and State programs a national guide will never mention.
3 guides · 5 lenders listed
The three things people get wrong
A co-op is not a mortgage
You are borrowing against shares and a proprietary lease. No recording tax, no CEMA, a board that can say no, and a shorter list of lenders who will do it at all.
CEMA is not a loophole
It is written into the tax law, and on a large refinance it is worth thousands. Ask for it before you lock, not after — how it works.
Guides
Business capital
NYC Small Business Grants and Programs
Verified city, state and federal funding programs for NYC small businesses — what each provides, who qualifies, and where to check current status.
Business capitalRestaurant and Storefront Financing in NYC
Financing a NYC restaurant or retail buildout: equipment loans, SBA 7(a) and 504, MCA math, and why your lease and permitting float decide the deal.
Business capitalSmall Business Loans in NYC: Banks, SBA, CDFIs
How NYC small business lending actually works — bank, SBA, CDFI, online and MCA options, what underwriters check, and why your lease drives the file.
Buying a homeCEMA Loans in NYC: How They Cut Recording Tax
What a CEMA is, the Section 255 mechanics, worked math on a NYC refinance, when the fees and 75-day timeline outweigh the savings, and purchase CEMAs.
Buying a homeCo-op Share Loans vs Mortgages in NYC
How a NYC co-op share loan differs from a condo mortgage: no mortgage recording tax, a UCC-1 lien, a recognition agreement, and board financing caps.
Buying a homeFirst-Time Buyer Programs in NYC: SONYMA and HPD
SONYMA loans, DPAL and DPAL PLUS, HPD HomeFirst up to $100,000, and HDFC co-ops: current limits, income caps, and how NYC first-time buyers sequence them.
The NYC lender directory
A researched list of firms that lend in the five boroughs, entry by entry, with the facts taken from each firm's own public site and the date we last checked it. Basic listings are free and are not paid for. Where a firm has bought placement it is labeled Featured — Advertisement, every time it appears.