Research the house, one record at a time.

Establish exactly which property is being sold

Start with a single identity sheet: advertised address; any alternate or historical address; borough, block and lot (BBL); Building Identification Number (BIN); seller’s legal name; tax-lot area; and the parcels included in the sale. Queens addresses can be rendered differently across listings and records. Search by BBL as well as address, then check that each result refers to the building you toured. ACRIS can look up the BBL and recorded documents for Queens; its online document coverage begins in 1966. NYC Department of Finance: ACRIS.

Ask the seller’s side to identify whether the offering includes one tax lot, multiple lots, or an interest in a condominium or cooperative. A building that looks like a private townhouse can have a different ownership structure. Your attorney should reconcile the contract description, deed, title report, and survey. If there is a separate garden parcel, side lot, garage, or promised access right, put it on the identity sheet and verify it independently.

For landmark status, use the official LPC map, not the neighborhood name in an advertisement. LPC’s Queens map directory includes the Hunters Point Historic District; the agency also provides an interactive map for checking a particular property. Save the actual district boundary map and the property’s designation information. Being in Hunters Point, Long Island City, or near a historic block is not itself the same as being inside the designated district. LPC Queens district maps; Hunters Point district boundary PDF; Discover NYC Landmarks.

Create this record first: “Property identity confirmed / discrepancy unresolved,” with a dated copy of every source. A mismatch is a research task, not an invitation to select the most attractive description.

Keep a records directory beside the listing

Each source answers a different question. Download documents, not only search-result screenshots; retain the search date, address/BBL/BIN used, document number, and professional responsible for follow-up.

How to use the directory: mark each category “reviewed,” “document requested,” “professional review needed,” or “not applicable—with reason.” Do not use a single overall green check to hide an unresolved occupancy, tenancy, structural, or title issue.

Read ownership and title records as a chain

ACRIS records are valuable starting evidence. The City Register maintains deeds, mortgages, and other recorded property documents, but DOF expressly warns that reviewing them is not necessarily the same as a title search. For pre-1966 records, DOF directs researchers to the Land Records Research Library at the Queens City Register office. DOF: recording property-related documents.

Ask your attorney and title professional to establish the seller’s vested interest and authority to convey it, trace relevant conveyances, and identify liens, restrictions, exceptions, and required releases. A recorded mortgage is a financing instrument, not the deed conveying ownership. Its original face amount is not a current payoff statement. A recorded satisfaction is useful evidence about a particular recorded mortgage; it does not independently clear every possible title issue.

For an estate, trust, company, or jointly owned property, obtain the authority documents your attorney requires. Ask which title exceptions will remain after closing and what practical restrictions they create. A lender’s title policy protects the lender’s interest; discuss separate owner’s coverage and its exclusions. NYS DFS: title-insurance explanation.

Townhouse-specific survey questions: Where are the legal rear and side boundaries? Do the house, extension, fence, steps, retaining wall, or shed cross a line? Is a side passage an owned strip, an easement, a license, or simply a longstanding practice? What documents govern shared walls, drainage, roof access, or utilities? Ask a New York licensed surveyor to establish the physical evidence and your attorney to interpret the legal rights. State guidance explains that boundary surveys can identify encroachments and compare structures with deed descriptions. NYS Education Department: land-surveying consumer information.

Request a readable current survey or a professional assessment of whether the existing survey is sufficient. Compare its field date with later alterations. A backyard fence, listing diagram, tax-map line, or neighbor’s account is not a substitute for this reconciliation.

Verify the legal use floor by floor

The question is more precise than “Is it a two-family?” Establish how each floor is authorized to be used, how many dwelling units are authorized, and whether the current layout and your intended use fit those approvals. A Certificate of Occupancy (CO) states legal use and permitted occupancy. DOB distinguishes a final CO from a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO), and a Letter of Completion for work that does not require a new or amended CO. Search the actual document and any applicable conditions rather than relying on a database’s short description. DOB: Certificate of Occupancy.

If the document is a TCO, verify the covered spaces, expiration date, renewal status and outstanding requirements for a final CO with the architect, attorney and lender. A temporary approval should not be treated as a permanent completion record. DOB: Temporary Certificate of Occupancy.

Older houses require particular care. A building constructed before 1938 may be exempt from having a CO if later work did not trigger one through a change in use, egress, or occupancy. “Pre-1938” is not a blanket approval of the present arrangement. Where appropriate, DOB can issue a Letter of No Objection (LNO) to confirm legal use. Your architect and attorney should identify the supporting historical records and whether an LNO, other evidence, or a new/amended CO is needed. NYC311: CO and LNO research; DOB LNO application and checklist.

Build a floor-by-floor comparison with these columns: advertised use; observed use; approved use; supporting document; discrepancy; resolution. Include the cellar/basement, kitchens, bathrooms, rear extension, roof space, and accessory areas. “Garden apartment,” “guest suite,” “recreation room,” and “in-law space” are marketing descriptions unless the approvals support the intended use.

Do not budget rental income from a lower level before its status is established. HPD explains that below-grade occupancy requires applicable light, air, sanitation, egress, and DOB approvals. NYC now also has specific ancillary-dwelling-unit rules and a limited legalization framework; eligibility and completed approvals must be checked for the actual property. A new program does not automatically legalize an existing apartment. HPD: basements and cellars; DOB: ancillary dwelling units.

Review both DOB systems and reconcile the work history

Use BIS and DOB NOW together. DOB’s current Public Portal FAQ says complaints remain in BIS, some violations are BIS-only, and older filings made through eFiling or borough offices must also be researched in BIS. This is why a clean-looking page in one system cannot stand for a complete building search. DOB NOW Public Portal FAQs.

Create a work-history log for substantial changes: roof or rear additions; structural openings; unit combinations or subdivisions; kitchens and bathrooms; plumbing and gas; electrical service; heating equipment; decks; windows; and façade work. For each relevant job, ask your architect or engineer to distinguish application, approval, permit, inspection, sign-off, and any resulting occupancy document. A permit shows permission to perform a scope of work, not that the work was completed and accepted exactly as approved.

Request the approved drawings, amendments, inspection/sign-off evidence, and applicable completion documents. Compare them with conditions observed at the house. If the online record is incomplete, DOB accepts requests for archived folders, plans, microfilm, docket books, and other records through its record-request process. DOB: Find Building Data.

For every open item, record the underlying condition, required remedy, responsible professional, estimated scope, agency steps, and evidence needed for closure. Clarify separately any civil penalties and any physical correction. DOB notes that unresolved violations can affect selling, refinancing, or obtaining occupancy/completion documents. DOB: violation issued.

Decision point: if the buyer’s plan depends on an unverified apartment, addition, or conversion, request a written feasibility assessment and a contract strategy before pricing it as usable space.

Treat HPD records as their own review

HPD Online can show complaints, violations, registration, charges, litigation, and vacate orders. Review the individual entries, addresses, apartment references, dates, and status—not simply a count. The published user guide describes the complaints tab as showing open and closed complaints from the preceding two years; do not assume that a short displayed history is the building’s entire history. HPD Online; HPD Online user guide.

Registration depends on building and occupancy facts. HPD requires annual registration of residential buildings with three or more units and one- or two-family dwellings where neither the owner nor the owner’s immediate family resides. Registration must also be updated when ownership or registered information changes. HPD registration is separate from HCR rent registration. A missing registration on an owner-occupied one- or two-family house therefore requires a different inquiry from missing registration on a building that is required to register. HPD: Register Your Property.

For violations, HPD uses Class A, B, and C hazard classifications and separate repair/vacate orders. Ask what was corrected, how it was certified, and what remains in the agency record. A condition described as fixed by a seller still needs documentary and physical reconciliation. HPD explains its correction and certification processes and potential additional charges. HPD: Clear Violations.

Request seller records for recurring heat/hot-water problems, leaks, pests, mold conditions, fire-safety items, lead obligations, and repairs. Have the inspection focus on any recurring physical issue revealed by the history. The absence of a complaint is not a whole-house condition report; a closed complaint is not a substitute for reading any associated violation.

Separate zoning capacity, landmark permission, and existing compliance

ZoLa is a research map for zoning and related land-use information. Use the current mapped districts and Zoning Resolution with a qualified architect’s analysis of the actual lot and building. Ask about allowed uses, floor area, height, yards, setbacks, lot coverage, and any special-district or other applicable provisions. Any claimed development rights require additional title and zoning-lot research. DCP ZoLa user guide; NYC Zoning Resolution.

Historic-district approval is a separate process. LPC explains that zoning compliance does not compel landmark approval. Its review can extend to rear façades and work not visible from the street; some interior work also needs LPC clearance. A project’s zoning potential should therefore not be presented as a promised expansion. LPC: permits and making alterations; LPC permit types.

Before buying around a renovation concept, prepare a short brief: intended use, must-have rooms, exterior changes, mechanical equipment, roof/deck plans, desired schedule, and budget. Ask an architect experienced with LPC to identify likely approvals, missing records, and feasible alternatives. Treat an informal concept or a nearby precedent as a starting point for discussion.

Also research the existing work. LPC’s permit search covers applications and permits from January 1, 2016; earlier files require a records request. Pending application descriptions can change during review. LPC Permit Search.

Check the visible windows, door, stoop, railings, masonry, cornice, roof equipment, and rear additions against relevant approved scopes. LPC states that work performed without permits by a prior owner can become the current owner’s responsibility. Obtain a resolution plan for unauthorized alterations rather than assuming they were accepted because they have existed for years. LPC: violations.

Common questions