United States

Registering Property in

United States

Listed below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standard Property Transfer

  • Property Value: USD 2,350,844.98
  • City: New York City

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
* 1 Obtain a title report

A title report is obtained from one of many competing private companies, regulated by the state. Fees for title insurance are set by state regulators. Fees for services vary. A title report is not technically mandatory, but is routinely used to analyze the quality of title. A title report is an essential prerequisite to securing title insurance. No title company would offer title insurance without a title report tracing the deed history and clearly articulating the liens, covenants and other limitations on title. A title report and title insurance are typically required by lenders. Most buyers buy a title insurance to assure the title is clear (i.e. no defects in the title). Companies that provide title reports also provide title insurance. One application for title report and title insurance is enough. Thus, no additional procedure or time is needed. Banks usually require title insurance for a property to be accepted as a loan. The cost of such title insurance is USD 9,500 given the assumptions of our case study, including the cost of the Title report.

Agency: Private Company 		About 10 days (simultaneous with procedure 2) 9500 (title report)
* 2 Conduct an environmental review

The environmental review is typically conducted by a private firm specializing in the field. It is not technically mandatory, but a prudent investor will routinely require an environmental review and no bank would ever advance a commercial mortgage without conducting an environmental review. The environmental review may have up to 3 phases:
1. The history of the property in the public records is analyzed to check if there was any record of contamination or any violation.
2. If yes, an inspection of the property takes place, where some samples are taken
3. Clean-up phase if needed.


Agency: Private Company 		varies depending on factual circumstances (simultaneous with procedure 1) (According to the assumptions of the case study, it is assumed that no violation nor problem is found in the first phase of the review, and that the whole procedure does not take m depends on nature and extent of contamination, if any
3 The buyer obtains and fills the forms needed for the transfer

The buyer must obtain and fill the NYS Transfer Tax Form TP-584 regarding real estate transfer tax, and the NYS Real Property Transfer Report (Equalization) Form RP-5217. The state forms RP-5217 and TP-584 are available in many local government offices and on the Internet. Additionally, the property disclosure form is typically drafted by the attorney for the seller and given to the buyer prior to or at closing. The title deed is usually prepared by the seller. The fees for state forms RP-5217 ($250) and TP-584 ($5 + 0.4% of property value) are typically collected by the title company at closing, prior to recording, and must be paid to the state upon filing the deed for recording with the registry. It is common practice to obtain title insurance from one of the competing title insurance companies. (The cost of title insurance, according to New York State Title Insurance Rates for Zone 2, will cost an additional $7,978.) The title insurance can only be acquired at closing, after the transaction has been completed between buyer and seller and the price has been paid.
Where financing is involved, the lender typically requires the purchaser to obtain insurance as a condition of the loan. There is a separate mortgage recording tax required to be paid, in addition to the real property transfer tax.
The title insurance company will take the responsibility of recording the title at the county clerk.

 1 day Filing fee for state form RP-5217 is $250 + Filing fee for stare form TP-584 is $5 + 0.4% of property value (transfer tax)
4 The title is recorded with the County Clerk

The transfer deed (together with the applicable tax forms and payment) is then presented to the applicable public official, e.g. county clerk, for recordation in the public records of the jurisdiction. The date of acceptance of the deed by the clerk is the date which controls for transfer purposes. Nonetheless, it often can take many weeks (and even months) for the actual recordation to take place and become available on the public record. However, the transaction is valid and opposable to third parties on the date it is submitted.
Although the law states that title passes upon delivery of the deed, where there are competing claims the law recognizes the 1st recorded deed.
The title insurance company usually takes the responsibility of recording the title at the County Clerk, paying the fees for state forms RP-5217 and TP-584 .

The documentation shall include:
Title deed
NYS Real Property form TP-584 on real estate transfer tax
Property Disclosure Form
Real Property form RP-5217
Title Insurance


Agency: County Clerk 		1 day $28 + $ 3 per page (assuming that the title consists of about 12 pages)
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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