About lender.nyc

lender.nyc is an independent publisher covering one narrow, badly-served subject: how borrowing money in New York City actually works. Recording tax charged on the loan rather than the price. Co-ops that are shares, not real property. A refinance mechanism that exists in no other state. The national personal-finance sites are enormous and, on all of this, thin — because it is only worth writing carefully if you care about eight million people rather than three hundred million.

What we are not

We are not a lender, a mortgage broker, a loan originator, or a servicer. We are not licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services, because we do none of the things that require a licence. We do not take applications, we do not match you with anyone, and we do not sell leads — there is no form anywhere on this site, and that is a design decision rather than an oversight.

How we research

• Tax and rule figures come from the primary source — the New York State forms and instructions, the Tax Law itself, the City's own Finance material — and each guide lists what it used.
• Directory entries are written from the firm's own public website, with a link to the exact page and the date we last looked. We do not repeat a firm's marketing as fact, and we do not verify anyone's licensing on your behalf.
• Everything is dated. Rates move and thresholds change. A page with no date on it is not something you should be pricing a transaction from — ours or anyone's.
• We say when we do not know. Where a figure could not be confirmed against a primary source, the page says so rather than rounding the uncertainty away.

How we are paid

Two ways, both labeled where they appear. Some outbound links to national lending platforms are affiliate links, marked in a labeled block, and we may be paid if you open an account. Firms can buy a Featured placement in the directory for a flat fee, labeled Featured — Advertisement every time it appears. We take no per-lead or per-closed-loan compensation on anything. The full explanation is on the disclosure page, and it is worth reading before you weigh anything we write.

Where the site stands

14 guides published and 26 firms in the directory, with more of both in progress. Found an error? Tell us and we will fix it and say that we did: hello@lender.nyc.

Nothing on this site is financial, tax, or legal advice. New York transactions are attorney closings for good reason — use one.