Questions We Get Asked

Yes. An order restricts occupancy, not ownership or transfer. It affects value because the buyer inherits the process of lifting it, but it does not prevent a sale.

Indefinitely, until the issuing agency rescinds it after verifying corrections. It does not expire on its own and there is no fine you can pay to clear it.

A licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect assesses and files a scope of repair, the work is completed under permits, penalties are paid or security posted, your engineer certifies completion, and each agency that placed an order is asked to reinspect.

Usually yes. A partial order affects specific floors or units while the rest stays occupied, so rent may continue from the unaffected part. That materially changes the carrying cost and therefore the pressure you are under.

Ask the issuing agency. Access to retrieve possessions is often arranged with an escort, but entering a vacated building without authorisation carries real penalties.

Yes. Who keeps the proceeds is a negotiated term rather than a legal barrier. Tell any buyer at the outset; one who suggests concealing it from your carrier has told you something useful.

There is one possibility specific to fire that nobody mentions. Where an insurer suspects arson, their deadline to accept or reject doubles from fifteen to thirty business days under the Insurance Law. Suspicion alone triggers it and you may never be told. If your file has slowed without explanation, ask in writing whether it has been referred.

Where one or more elements are not in dispute, payment on those elements must be made even while others remain contested. You should not be held at zero because part of the claim is argued about.

Yes. A denial affects your recovery from the carrier, not the value of the property. Denied and uninsured losses are common and we buy both.

Yes, but it is a specialist job. The exposed party walls must be protected and often underpinned, adjacent owners must be notified, and access agreements are usually needed. It is expensive and slow, which is why a standing masonry shell is worth so much more here than elsewhere.

Frequently the best outcome available on an attached building. A sound shell avoids a party wall demolition entirely. Get a licensed engineer to confirm the masonry is sound before you accept a figure priced as a teardown.

Restoration of the building structure is the corporation's responsibility rather than yours, which is the frustrating part. You can press for the filed scope and a timeline, then decide whether to wait or sell into the uncertainty.

Establish their position early. Depending on tenancy type, rights can survive both the fire and the order, and they bind whoever owns the building afterwards.

Not for us. Demolition here carries asbestos filings, utility disconnections, protection plans and a licensed contractor. You would pay retail for work a buyer values at wholesale.

Nothing. No fee for the figure, no commission, no repair spend and no obligation if you decline.

The city tax is 1% of the price at $500,000 or less and 1.425% above that, and the state adds 0.4%. Both are customarily the seller's. Note the cliff: the higher city rate applies to the whole price, so a sale one dollar over $500,000 costs about $2,125 more in tax than one at the threshold.

Yes, and this changed recently. Since 20 March 2024 the $500 credit that most New York City sellers used instead of the statement no longer exists. The statement is mandatory on residential sales.

Quickly where title is clean. Slower where an estate has not been through Surrogate's Court. New York closings also run through attorneys on both sides and are not binding until both have signed.

Only after establishing it will close. A high offer from a buyer who cannot fund lifting the order is not worth more than a firm one from a buyer who can.

The estate has to be in a position to convey, which usually means Surrogate's Court. It is the most common cause of delay on New York fire property and worth starting even before you decide whether to sell.

ACRIS, the city's free public system, covers four boroughs. Staten Island records with the Richmond County Clerk instead, and Westchester property with the Westchester County Clerk.

They have to be resolved or accounted for at closing but they do not prevent a sale. Raise them early; found in diligence they cost far more time.

Every owner of record has to sign. Where co-owners disagree that is a legal question rather than a pricing one, and worth resolving before soliciting offers.