Mortgage lenders in New York, NY

Mortgage costs to compare in New York

Figures come from the official sources listed on this page for the New York area. Lender fees vary; your Loan Estimate shows your actual costs. Henry is not a lender.

Housing market timing in New York

Use the actual contract, building review, inspection and disclosure deadlines rather than a claimed best season to borrow. Before holiday periods or a planned move, ask every participant which documents and signatures remain outstanding; do not assume a board meeting, city filing or lender review will fit your moving date. For building-condition questions that become apparent during wet or cold weather, follow the New York Attorney General physical-condition guidance and obtain an appropriate inspection rather than treating a lender appraisal as a repair assessment.

Landlord rules and local requirements

Property-tax planning is not a mortgage permit. New homeowners should review eligibility for the NYS School Tax Relief (STAR) credit and register when the home becomes their primary residence; do not assume the seller’s benefits transfer unchanged. The NYC cooperative and condominium tax abatement has separate eligibility rules and is applied for by the development’s board or authorized agent. For legal occupancy and proposed alterations, consult the NYC Department of Buildings Certificate of Occupancy guidance; closing on a home does not authorize construction or an unapproved change of use.

Mortgage lender licensing in New York

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYS DFS) is the state mortgage regulator; use its homeowner and mortgage resources to understand oversight and consumer protections. Verify the company and individual through NMLS Consumer Access, checking identity, authorization and whether the person is state-licensed or federally registered as applicable. A matching identifier is a verification step, not a promise about the transaction. Henry does not originate or broker your loan.

Home loans in New York City: begin with ownership and the address

This hub covers New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. A search in Astoria or Jackson Heights is not interchangeable with a search in Riverdale, Park Slope or St. George. Use neighborhood names to organize commuting and property visits, but make financing decisions from the particular home’s legal ownership, building documents and intended occupancy. No neighborhood price averages or market forecasts are assumed here.

Before contacting lenders, identify whether the purchase is a cooperative apartment, condominium unit or house. Collect the listing documents and ask your attorney what remains to be verified. The New York Attorney General co-op and condo guide stresses examining the physical condition of the whole building, including major systems, rather than focusing only on the apartment’s appearance. A freshly renovated kitchen does not answer questions about the roof, facade or building finances.

Co-ops versus condos: different collateral and building questions

In a co-op, you purchase shares allocated to an apartment and receive a proprietary lease, rather than a deed to the apartment. Maintenance charges relate to the shares allocated to the unit. Those distinctions come from the New York Attorney General cooperative overview. Tell the lender immediately that the collateral is a co-op interest, and ask what corporate documents, financial statements, insurance information and recognition documents it needs. Keep the lender’s review separate from the building’s purchaser review.

A condominium purchase involves real-property ownership, so deed, title and recorded-mortgage questions belong in the closing plan. An ordinary co-op share loan is secured by personal property rather than a recorded mortgage on the apartment; do not automatically assign it the same mortgage recording tax as a condo mortgage. The NYS mortgage recording tax guidance identifies the tax as applying to recording a mortgage on real property. Have counsel confirm the instrument and tax treatment, particularly if the transaction involves more than a straightforward apartment share purchase.

Ask counsel to review the offering plan and amendments, financial materials and any proposed assessments before you settle on a financing budget. The Attorney General buyer guidance explains why building-wide physical issues matter. Keep a list of unresolved questions and who must answer each one. Neither a lender’s willingness to consider the property nor a building’s acceptance of a purchaser replaces your own legal and physical due diligence.

Mortgage broker New York: broker, lender, bank or credit union

A mortgage broker helps arrange financing with lenders, while a direct lender provides the loan. Banks and credit unions may also offer mortgage lending. Ask who is taking the application, which institution would fund the transaction and who can explain each fee. Do not assume that a familiar brand, a referral from a building or a local office establishes the person’s authority. Use NYS DFS consumer resources and NMLS Consumer Access to verify the identities involved.

For an NYC apartment, add practical questions: Does the provider handle this ownership type? Who requests the managing agent’s documents? What happens if the building supplies incomplete records? Ask for a named contact and a written list of outstanding requirements. Henry’s role is introductions only, not choosing a loan, collecting an application on a lender’s behalf or making a lending decision. Get matched with 3 lenders, then decide independently whether to continue with any of them.

Loan types for New York homebuyers

Ask about conventional home loans as well as any government-backed option for which your household and the property may qualify. The ownership form matters: do not assume a program available for a house also works for a co-op or any particular condominium project. Compare the required documentation, mortgage insurance, property review and restrictions on occupancy. Ask the provider to distinguish borrower requirements from building requirements in writing.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development FHA overview explains that FHA insures loans made through lenders. Eligible veterans, service members and certain surviving spouses can review VA home loan eligibility and the Certificate of Eligibility process. VA also identifies lender and program requirements beyond service eligibility. These resources are starting points for questions, not a statement that every NYC building or applicant qualifies.

The USDA Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program serves eligible rural areas and provides an address eligibility tool. It should not be presented as a generally available New York City purchase option. If your search extends outside the city, check the exact address through USDA instead of assuming eligibility from a county name or a listing description.

First time home buyer New York: SONYMA and HPD HomeFirst

The State of New York Mortgage Agency, SONYMA, publishes Achieving the Dream as a mortgage program and offers optional down-payment assistance through its mortgage programs. Start with SONYMA Programs to confirm the applicable income, purchase-price, occupancy and property requirements. Ask a participating provider which program fits the proposed home and whether education or additional documentation is required. Do not assume that first-time status alone establishes eligibility.

The SONYMA Down Payment Assistance Loan (DPAL) can accompany a SONYMA mortgage, including eligible cooperative purchases. Its published formula and minimum are listed in the cost table; assistance cannot exceed actual eligible down-payment and closing costs. The agency warns that sale or refinancing within the first ten years may require repayment of all or part of the assistance. Read the actual note and program terms before treating any assistance as permanently yours.

New York City’s HPD HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance Program provides qualified first-time buyers up to $100,000 toward the down payment or closing costs on eligible one- to four-family homes, condominiums or cooperatives in the five boroughs. HPD requires approved homebuyer education, counseling, household eligibility and an eligible owner-occupied property. Its page also specifies inspection and occupancy obligations. Begin with an HPD-approved counseling agency before assuming the money can be included in your closing funds.

For either assistance route, ask when eligibility must be certified and whether funding can be coordinated with the lender and contract calendar. Have the counselor explain occupancy periods, repayment triggers and whether another subsidy can be combined. Avoid relying on an old income-limit chart copied into a listing. Use the administering agency’s current materials and keep the eligibility determination with your transaction records.

NYC closing taxes: separate mortgage tax, transfer tax and mansion tax

The NYC Department of Finance mortgage recording tax page explains that the combined New York State and city tax depends on the mortgage amount. Use ACRIS to calculate the applicable tax and any exemptions, with your closing professional confirming the result. Do not confuse the mortgage principal with the purchase price: the mortgage recording calculation and transfer-tax calculations have different starting points. Recording fees are another separate category.

The NYS real estate transfer tax guidance distinguishes the seller’s base and additional base taxes from the buyer’s additional residential tax, commonly called mansion tax, and NYC supplemental tax. Mansion tax begins at $1,000,000 of consideration, while the NYC supplemental residential tax begins at $2,000,000. Those are transaction thresholds, not descriptions of a home’s architectural style. Ask counsel to calculate the total applicable tax from the actual consideration and residential classification.

The NYC Real Property Transfer Tax guidance covers a separate city tax, including transfers of cooperative housing stock. Do not assume that avoiding a recorded real-property mortgage means a co-op transaction escapes transfer taxes. Ask your attorney which charges normally fall to the seller, which may become your obligation under the contract, and whether a sponsor transaction shifts charges. The state explicitly describes circumstances in which a buyer may bear transfer-tax liability. Your closing worksheet should identify both the tax and the party responsible.

Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure: build a comparison file

The CFPB Loan Estimate review guide says lenders generally must send a Loan Estimate within three business days after receiving the six key application items. Request the same loan amount, intended occupancy, property type and structure when comparing providers so that unexplained differences are easier to spot. Save each dated version. Ask the lender to identify origination charges, third-party services, title-related items, prepaids and escrow funding rather than relying on a single verbal total.

Before closing, compare the latest Loan Estimate against the Closing Disclosure line by line. The CFPB closing-document guide explains the requirement to receive the Closing Disclosure three business days before closing. Confirm how it will arrive and who will answer questions. A missing disclosure, incorrect ownership information or unexplained change deserves attention before signing, not a promise that the paperwork can be sorted out after you move.

An appraisal and an independent condition inspection serve different purposes. For an apartment, examine both the unit and the building-level information discussed in the Attorney General co-op and condo guidance. Ask who ordered each service and what it covers. Keep legal review, inspection findings and lender conditions in separate folders so that completion of one does not conceal an unresolved issue in another.

How to compare lenders and coordinate an NYC closing

Begin with identity and authorization checks through NMLS Consumer Access, then compare written disclosures for the same transaction assumptions. Ask each provider to identify anything it still needs from you, the managing agent, your attorney or an assistance administrator. Consider responsiveness and clarity of documentation along with the disclosed charges. Do not interpret the word best in a search result as an independently verified ranking of lenders or a promise about your application.

Create a shared checklist covering contract deadlines, building review, lender property review, inspection follow-up, assistance certification and disclosure delivery. Ask your attorney which items must precede signing and which can proceed in parallel. There is no universal NYC closing duration supplied here: a house purchase, a co-op transfer and a newly completed condominium can have different unresolved requirements. The NYC Department of Buildings occupancy guidance is especially useful when a listing raises questions about legal use or a temporary certificate.

For recording, the NYC mortgage recording tax guidance distinguishes Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx ACRIS filings from Staten Island documents handled through the Richmond County Clerk. Confirm the proper filing office with counsel. Before transferring funds, verify final instructions directly with your closing professional through a previously established contact method. Keep signed copies, disclosure versions and assistance agreements accessible after closing.

Refinancing and planning work after you buy

For an existing NYC home, refinancing still requires attention to the ownership form and the security instrument. Ask counsel and the lender whether a new recorded mortgage, assignments or other documentation would affect the tax calculation; do not apply a purchase-closing worksheet without checking. If you used SONYMA assistance, its DPAL repayment guidance specifically flags refinancing during the first ten years as a possible repayment event. Review any HomeFirst agreement separately with its administrator.

Once you own the home, prioritize documented defects before optional remodeling. A building’s alteration agreement and city requirements are separate from financing. The NYC Department of Buildings explains that changes in use, egress or occupancy can require a current or amended Certificate of Occupancy. For an older property, have counsel determine what records establish lawful occupancy rather than assuming every building must have the same certificate. Keep permits and building permissions distinct from the lender’s closing conditions.

Areas Henry covers

Upper West Side · Harlem · Park Slope · Bedford-Stuyvesant · Astoria · Jackson Heights · Riverdale · St. George

Common questions

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