Preparing an older New York home to sell: repairs, paperwork and permits

Selling an older home in New York is mostly a matter of order. Learn which rules apply to your kind of property, find out what the city and the building already have on file about you, and only then decide how much work to do.

This is general information, not legal advice. In most of New York the sale runs through attorneys, and the questions below belong on your attorney's desk. The New York City Bar says attorneys are used in a real estate transaction in most parts of New York. The step-by-step downsizing guide shows where this preparation fits in the larger plan.

Repair first or sell as-is?

There is no single right answer, and it is a trade-off rather than a rule. Repairing before you list gives you control over the work, the contractor and the cost. Selling as-is saves you the project and the disruption, but a buyer who finds problems is likely to raise them in negotiation, and you will have less say in how they are priced.

A few questions help sort the list:

• Is it a safety or water issue? Active leaks, failing wiring, unsafe stairs or railings and similar problems are the ones an inspector will put at the top of a report.
• Will you have to disclose it anyway? If you know about a defect and you are selling a one- to four-family house, the form described below asks about it. Fixing it can be simpler than explaining it.
• Is it cosmetic? Paint, hardware and lighting are inexpensive to change, but a full kitchen or bath renovation is a bigger bet on what a buyer wants.
• Who will do the work? Work in a co-op or condo needs the building's approval. Work in a house may need a permit. Both add time.

Get written quotes for anything you are considering, then ask your listing agent and attorney how each item might play in a negotiation. An agent at eXp Realty can walk through the list with you if you ask for an introduction, but the attorney handles anything about what the contract or the law requires.

Selling a house as-is does not by itself answer the disclosure question. The law's listed exemptions concern types of transfer, such as court-ordered transfers, transfers by fiduciaries in estate or trust administration and transfers between relatives, so an estate sale may be exempt while an ordinary as-is sale may not be. Ask your attorney which applies before you assume anything.

What a buyer's inspector and the building will look at

A buyer may hire an inspector, and the seller's disclosure is not a substitute for that inspection. Under the state disclosure law, the seller's statement is based on what the seller actually knows, and the form itself says it is not a warranty. That means an inspector's report and the seller's form can differ, and a good preparation plan assumes the inspector will find what you did not know about.

Before listing, consider a walk-through of your own with a licensed professional you choose, looking at the roof or top-floor ceilings, plumbing and drains, electrical panel, windows, basement or cellar and any signs of water. In an apartment, look at what you own and are responsible for: interior walls, fixtures, appliances and any alterations made over the years.

Alterations in a co-op or condo

Pre-war apartments are often renovated piecemeal: a kitchen opened up, a bath moved, a wall removed. How a building handles alterations is set by the building itself. A co-op's by-laws and proprietary lease set the terms of ownership, and the state Attorney General describes owners as both shareholders in and tenants of the same corporation. A condominium runs under its declaration and by-laws.

Whether your building required an alteration agreement, whether it was approved and whether it was closed out are questions only the building can answer. Ask the managing agent what the building has on file for your unit, and gather any of your own paperwork from past projects: contracts, plans, approval letters and permits. If something was done without approval, tell your attorney early. It is far easier to sort out before a buyer's attorney asks.

Property condition disclosure for one- to four-family houses

If you are selling a house with one to four units, New York's Property Condition Disclosure Act generally applies. The statute defines residential real property as a one- to four-family dwelling and excludes condominiums, cooperatives and homeowners' association property not held in fee simple. See Real Property Law section 461.

• The seller delivers the completed statement to the buyer or the buyer's agent before the buyer signs a binding contract of sale. A signed copy goes with the contract (section 462).
• Answers rest on the seller's actual knowledge. The seller can answer NA or Unknown where that is accurate.
• If you learn something that makes the statement materially inaccurate, it must be revised as soon as practicable, though not after title transfers or the buyer takes occupancy, whichever is earlier.
• An amendment signed in September 2023 (Chapter 484 of the Laws of 2023) ended the old option to skip the form and give the buyer a $500 credit at closing, and it added questions about flood risk.

The Department of State's current form asks about floodplain status, flood insurance, past flood claims, water penetration and, among many other items, lead plumbing. The form warns that a knowingly false or incomplete statement may subject the seller to claims by the buyer before or after title transfers. For older houses the practical advice is simple: read every question, gather what you know and answer accurately. The seller disclosures guide covers the form and the agency forms in more detail.

Condo and co-op sellers are not covered by this act, but they still face the building's own process and, where it applies, federal lead paint rules.

Lead paint disclosure for homes built before 1978

The federal rule applies to most housing built before 1978. According to the EPA's real estate disclosure page, sellers of most pre-1978 homes must:

• give the buyer the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home;
• disclose any known lead-based paint information and provide available records;
• include a Lead Warning Statement in the sales contract.

The buyer gets a 10-day period, which the parties can change or waive by agreement, to have the home inspected or assessed for lead-based paint. The EPA lists exemptions, including housing for the elderly or disabled unless a child under 6 lives there, foreclosure sales, homes certified lead-free and zero-bedroom units. That page is a general summary, so confirm with your attorney which exemptions apply to your sale. Keep any paperwork from past lead testing or abatement with your file, since sellers are asked to provide available records.

New York State's disclosure form also carries a note that a structure built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint. If you have tenants or a multi-unit building, New York City's separate lead paint law is a landlord issue. The HPD lead-based paint page explains who it covers.

Checking for open permits and violations with the NYC Department of Buildings

Older buildings tend to have decades of filings. Look yours up yourself before a buyer's attorney does. The Department of Buildings (DOB) describes two systems on its Finding Building Data page:

• Buildings Information System (BIS). Includes a profile page for every property in the city, listing related jobs and filings, occupancy information, complaints, violations and inspections. It also holds permits and job applications from before DOB NOW launched.
• DOB NOW Public Portal. Contains records for applications submitted in DOB NOW, including certificates of occupancy, compliance filings and violations issued to property owners.

DOB's guide to BIS, DOB NOW and eFiling gives the same split. Search both, because a property can have older records in one and newer ones in the other.

When you find an entry that looks unfinished, do not guess what it means. Write down the job or violation number and take it to your attorney, and in a co-op or condo, to the managing agent as well. Whether an open permit or violation has to be resolved before closing, how to close one out and what it may cost are legal and technical questions for those professionals. This guide does not answer them.

Outside the five boroughs, permit records sit with the local town, village or city building department, not the NYC Department of Buildings. If you are selling on Long Island, ask your attorney how to search your municipality's records.

Sources: NYC Department of Buildings, Finding Building Data.

Decluttering and staging an older home

Decades in the same place mean a lot of stuff, and clearing it does two jobs: it makes the home easier to show and it starts the move you are going to make anyway. The order that tends to work is to decide what is going with you first, then what family wants, and only then what is sold, donated or discarded.

• Clear surfaces and closets first. Buyers open closet doors and look at storage, and a packed closet reads as less of it.
• Reduce furniture in each room so the floor plan and the light are what a visitor notices.
• Deal with the basement, attic and storage cage early. They take longer than anyone expects.
• Keep paperwork for the home (warranties, receipts, manuals, permits and past inspection reports) in one folder.

Staging in general terms means arranging what you own, or renting some furniture, so each room has a clear purpose. Your listing agent can tell you what is worth the effort. For selling, donating and disposing of things, see our guide on estate sale, consignment or donation, the resources page for senior move managers and disposal options, and moving day in New York for the logistics.

Getting the building's paperwork ready

For a co-op or condo, the managing agent is usually the gatekeeper for the building's documents, and each building sets its own process. Start by asking the managing agent what the building requires from a seller and how long it takes. A short list of things to ask about:

• Governing documents: for a co-op, the proprietary lease, by-laws and house rules; for a condo, the declaration, by-laws and rules.
• Recent financial statements and any budget or reserve information the building provides.
• A statement of unpaid charges for a condo. The Real Property Law lets buyer and seller obtain one (section 339-z).
• The building's process for reviewing a buyer, and its timeline. Each building sets its own steps, and New York City adopted a law in 2026 setting deadlines for co-op boards. Ask your attorney whether it applies to your building.
• Any rules on sublets, flip taxes or other fees, set by the building's documents. Ask for the numbers in writing.
• Your unit's alteration history and any open items with the building.

Whether a condo has a right of first refusal depends on that condo's own documents. If it does, the offering plan must say so. If it has none, the plan says the board does not have the right to approve or disapprove purchasers, per Attorney General regulation 13 NYCRR 20.3. Your attorney can confirm what your building's documents provide.

Buyers of co-ops and condos are told by the Attorney General to read the entire offering plan and consult an attorney before signing, so expect the buyer's side to read the same papers you should have in hand. To see how the closing costs work out after all this, try the net proceeds calculator, and see the guide to co-ops, condos, townhouses and houses to understand what a buyer will compare.

A sensible order of work

1. Talk to a real estate attorney licensed in New York about your property type and any disclosure duty.
2. Look up your address in BIS and the DOB NOW Public Portal, or your municipality's records, and note anything open.
3. Ask the managing agent, if there is one, for the building's seller checklist and timeline.
4. Gather your own records: past permits, contractor invoices, warranties, lead testing and inspection reports.
5. Decide on repairs with written quotes in hand.
6. Declutter and stage, and only then take photographs.

Where you are moving next can shape the timing of all of this. Buy first or sell first covers that trade-off, and the where to downsize page describes areas to consider.

This site is not a brokerage and does not give legal, tax or financial advice. When you ask for an introduction, it goes to an agent on the operating team at eXp Realty, so it is not a search of the whole market. If you want to talk through how to prepare your home, you can ask to be introduced.