Urban Vue Properties ~ Blog

Perhaps there’s a particular house you’ve been eyeing for a while.  Or maybe you’re sentimental and want to know who currently owns your childhood home.  Or it could be that you’re just curious about that vacant lot or abandoned home in your neighborhood.  In any event, if you have the physical property address it’s quite simple to determine who owns a property in New York City — usually from the comfort of your home.

Obviously, the easiest way to determine who owns an occupied property is to knock on the front door and ask a simple question.  This clearly is not an option, though, if the property is vacant or you want to maintain discretion and anonymity.  Property ownership is a matter of public record and thanks to NYC’s online City Register database you can access property ownership information easily with just a few clicks of your mouse. 

ACRIS, an acronym for “Automated City Register Information System,” allows users to search property records and retrieve documents such as deeds and mortgages in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.  The only caveat is that the ACRIS database does not contain documents filed before January 1, 1966 (so any need for documents prior to this time may require an in-person trip to the local City Register’s office).  The ACRIS system is fairly straightforward to use.  Follow these tips to retrieve a deed containing property owner information:

1.  Click here to access ACRIS (or go to www.nyc.gov and jump to the “Finance” website).  

2. You need to use the property address to retrieve the property’s block and lot number (BBL).  Click on “Find Addresses and Parcels.”

3.  In the “Property Address” section input the following information: Borough, Street # and Street Name.  Click “Find BBL.”

4.  If you have entered a valid address, the BBL will now appear in the “Property Borough/Block/Lot Section.”  Click “Document Search by BBL.”

5.  This will take you to a screen labeled “Search By Parcel Identifier.”   There are various classes of documents to choose from.  “All Document Classes” is pre-selected, but if you wanted to limit your search you could use the drop-down menu to select from Deeds and Other Conveyances, Mortgages and Instruments, Other Documents, or UCC and Federal Liens.   If you are just searching for the property owner, you can select “Deeds and Other Conveyances.”  Click submit.

6.  If the property was sold post-1966, you will see a list of available deeds for the property.  Find the most recent deed on the list and click “IMG” to pull up an image of the actual deed.  You can now review the deed to determine the current property owner. 

Keep in mind that if a property was recently sold, the new deed will not show up on ACRIS immediately.  However, the system updates fairly quickly.  Timing will vary, but in personal experience I have seen deeds appear as quickly as 2 weeks from the date of closing.