NYC Real Estate Research Toolkit
Useful NYC Real Estate Websites
The public databases every serious NYC buyer, seller, attorney, and investor ends up on — organized by what you’re actually trying to find out. Bookmark this page, or just have us pull the report for you.
Public Records & Tools
Look it up yourself — or let us pull it
Most questions a buyer, seller, or attorney has about an NYC property can be answered directly from a public city or state database. These are the ones that actually matter. The Victoria Shtainer Team runs the same searches on every deal we touch — if you’d rather have us do it for you with commentary, just reach out.
Property Tax Bills
Pull the monthly tax bill for any property in NYC directly from the Department of Finance. Buyers use this to confirm what a seller is actually paying (and whether there are any arrears); sellers use it to access their own history.
NYC Department of Finance — Property Tax Bills
Enter a block & lot or address and you’ll get the full payment history, current balance, and any outstanding arrears. If a seller’s tax number doesn’t match what’s in their offering materials, this is where you find out.
Property Tax Abatements & Benefits
Confirm whether a property still qualifies for a 421-a, J-51, co-op/condo abatement, SCHE, DHE, or other benefit — and when it sunsets. This matters a lot: buyers often pay for benefits that are about to burn off.
NYC Department of Finance — Abatement & Benefits Lookup
The same Department of Finance portal surfaces all active abatements and exemptions applied to the property. Sellers, double-check yours is still being applied; buyers, double-check what you’re underwriting.
NYC Department of Buildings
The public record for every building in the city: open violations, permits pulled and closed, complaint history, and the current Certificate of Occupancy. Unfinished work or open ECB violations on a building will affect financing and marketability.
NYC Department of Buildings
Search by Building Identification Number (BIN) or address. Useful flags: unresolved ECB violations, expired permits on recent renovations, or a CofO that doesn’t match the way the unit is being used.
ACRIS — City Register Records
The Automated City Register Information System is the public record for deeds, mortgages, UCC filings, liens, easements, and restrictions in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Cooperative-apartment records are included for transactions from May 2013 onward; everything else goes back to 1966.
ACRIS (Automated City Register Information System)
Look up prior sales prices, current mortgages of record, UCC-1 financing statements (co-op liens), and recorded agreements like mansion-tax riders. This is where attorneys pull the title chain for any deal.
Offering Plans & Amendments
The New York State Attorney General’s Real Estate Finance Bureau approves every offering plan — and every amendment — filed for a condominium or co-op. You can confirm a plan is accepted, count amendments (a useful tell on a building’s history), and find recent filings.
NYS AG — Offering Plan Data Search
Search by building address or plan name. Lawyers rely on this to verify a plan is in effect; buyers and investors use it to audit a sponsor’s amendment history before going into contract.
Zoning & Land Use
Figure out what a lot is actually allowed to be. Zoning district, FAR, use groups, overlays, special districts, historic-district status, and the full ZOLA map — all in one place, at parcel-level detail.
ZOLA — NYC Zoning & Land Use Map
Click any lot in the five boroughs and get its zoning, building class, landmark status, flood zone, and adjacent zoning changes. Essential for townhouse buyers, developers, and anyone buying an air-rights story.
LLC & Corporate Entity Lookup
Deed transfers into and out of LLCs are common in NYC. The Department of State’s public database lets you match an LLC name from ACRIS back to its registered agent, members (when disclosed), and current status.
NY Dept. of State — Corporation & Business Entity Database
Search any for-profit LLC, non-profit, partnership, or corporation registered in New York State. Useful for identifying who is behind a buyer or seller shell entity, or confirming an entity is still active before closing.
Don’t want to dig through six different city websites? That’s literally part of what we do on every deal. Ask us to run the full report — title chain, CofO, violations, taxes, and abatements — before you sign anything.
We’ll Pull the Reports
Let us do the digging
Running these searches on every property you’re serious about is the kind of thing most buyers don’t find out they were supposed to do until something comes up at closing. The Victoria Shtainer Team runs ACRIS, DOB, and tax-bill pulls on every deal before offer — and we’ll flag anything that actually matters. No fishing, no guesswork, just the clean read you need to make the decision.