Buying in Manhattan
How Buying in Manhattan Actually Works, Step by Step
Offer to keys in roughly 60 to 90 days. What happens in what order, and the three places deals die.
Facts, figures and legal references on this page were verified against public sources in August 2026. Rules change; confirm anything decision-critical with your attorney or agent.
Two things about buying here that catch people from everywhere else. First, attorneys run the contracts, not agents. You will hire a real estate lawyer and you’ll be glad you did. Second, an accepted offer means nothing. Until contracts are signed, either side can walk, and sellers sometimes do when a better number shows up. It has a name here: getting gazumped.
The sequence
- Get your money story straight. Mortgage pre-approval before you look at anything. If you’re shopping co-ops, the bank’s yes is only half of it; the board has its own bar for down payment and reserves, and a good agent will tell you whether you’d clear it before you fall in love.
- Search. StreetEasy has most of the inventory. Open houses are normal. A buyer’s agent costs you nothing out of pocket (the seller’s side pays the commission by convention) and earns their keep later, on the board package and the negotiation.
- Offer. In writing, through the agents, usually with a financial statement attached. Still not binding. Keep looking until contracts are signed. Seriously.
- Contract and the 10%. Your attorney digs through the building’s financials and board minutes while the contract gets negotiated. When you sign, you hand over 10% of the price as the contract deposit. Now walking away costs real money. Now you can stop looking.
- Mortgage commitment. The bank appraises the apartment. In a co-op the bank also reviews the building. Both have to pass.
- The board package (co-ops). Application, two years of tax returns, bank statements, reference letters, a cover letter, all of it assembled like a court filing. Boards take two to six weeks, then usually interview you. Dress like a tenant they’d want. Answer questions, volunteer nothing.
- Closing. Around 60 to 90 days after contract. You leave with a deed if it’s a condo, or a stock certificate and proprietary lease if it’s a co-op. Either way, keys.
Where deals die
- Financing falls through after you waived the contingency. In bidding wars, buyers waive the financing contingency to look stronger. Fine, but if the loan then collapses, that 10% deposit is gone. Waive with your eyes open or not at all.
- The board says no. The classic Manhattan heartbreak. You get the deposit back and lose six weeks. An agent who pre-screens the building’s expectations against your finances is the vaccine for this.
- The building fails inspection by paperwork. Underfunded reserves, a looming assessment, a lawsuit in the minutes. When your attorney says walk, walk.
Your team
A real estate attorney ($2,000 to $4,000, non-negotiable in New York), a buyer’s agent (customary, seller-paid), your lender. Apartment inspections are rarer than house people expect; the attorney’s review of the building’s documents does most of that job.