Checking Liens Before a NYC Foreclosure Auction: ACRIS, County Clerk, DOF, DEP, OATH, HPD and eCourts

A bidder at a New York City foreclosure auction needs to know two things before raising a hand: which liens the sale will wipe out, and which ones the buyer will still own. ACRIS answers only part of that. The rest sits in the foreclosure case file, the County Clerk’s dockets, the Department of Finance (DOF) and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) accounts, the OATH and HPD records, and the federal tax lien index.

This guide covers judicial foreclosure sales held by court-appointed referees in the five boroughs, with Brooklyn (Kings County) and Queens examples and a note on Staten Island. Portal how-tos are in the guides linked below, and the rules on which liens survive a sale are in liens that survive a foreclosure sale in New York.

Why the check matters more at an auction

An ordinary purchase contract gives the buyer a title contingency and time to object. A foreclosure auction does not. The winning bidder signs the terms of sale on the spot and pays a 10% deposit immediately. The Kings County model judgment requires the bidder to pay the referee “ten percent of the sum bid” at the sale, and the Queens auction rules require the bidder to hold the full 10% at the time of the bid.

The closing deadline is short and set by the judgment: 45 days in the Kings model form and 30 days in the Queens model form, unless the parties agree otherwise. A bidder who refuses to close because of a title problem the terms of sale disclosed risks losing the deposit. In Mike Bldg. & Contr. Inc. v Just Homes, LLC (Sup Ct, Kings County 2012), a court-ordered auction of three Brooklyn properties in a mechanic’s lien foreclosure, the winning bidder balked over the title report and defaulted. The court rejected its title objection because the properties were sold “as is” and subject to mortgage liens of record, with no warranty of marketability or insurability. The property was resold for less, and the court kept $15,000 of the $43,500 deposit for the shortfall plus the referee’s fees and advertising costs, returning only the balance.

The lien check happens before the auction, and the bid should already price in anything that survives.

Step 1: Read the judgment and terms of sale

The judgment of foreclosure and sale, and the terms of sale the referee reads at the auction, define what the buyer gets. Get both in advance from the court file (Step 2) or from the plaintiff’s attorney or the referee named in the notice of sale.

The court’s model judgments show the usual structure:

  • Sold “as is.” Subject to whatever an inspection would show, covenants and easements, and the rights of tenants or persons in possession (Kings model form).
  • Taxes and water paid from the sale proceeds. The referee pays taxes, assessments, sewer rents and water rates that are liens on the property, and in New York City certain city agency charges with priority, under RPAPL 1354.
  • Prior liens, if any, survive. A mortgage or lien senior to the one being foreclosed is not paid from the sale. The buyer takes subject to it.
  • Transfer tax on the buyer. The Queens form makes the purchaser pay recording costs and real property transfer tax, not the referee.

The terms of sale for a particular property often add “subject to” items beyond the judgment: open violations, specific senior mortgages, tenancies, a pending appeal, or a statement that the referee makes no title representations. This varies by referee and by case. Read the actual terms of sale; the model form is only a starting point. The Queens rules require the terms of sale, “including any known encumbrances,” to be posted outside the courtroom by 9:30 a.m. on sale day.

Step 2: Read the foreclosure case in eCourts and NYSCEF

A foreclosure sale cuts off only the interests of parties who were properly named and served. RPAPL 1311 lists the necessary defendants: the owner and anyone else with an estate in the property, and every holder of a lien or encumbrance claimed to be subordinate to the plaintiff’s mortgage. Under RPAPL 1353(3), the referee’s deed bars each party “who was duly summoned” and those claiming through them after the notice of pendency. A junior lienholder who was left out of the case is not bound. What that means for the buyer is covered in liens that survive a foreclosure sale.

To check this:

  1. Find the case. WebCivil Supreme (part of the court system’s eCourts) searches Supreme Court civil cases, including by index number and party name, and shows the case’s status and history.
  2. Open the file in NYSCEF. Most NYC foreclosures are e-filed. The New York State Courts Electronic Filing system (NYSCEF) lets anyone search as a guest and view documents that are not sealed.
  3. Compare the caption to the lien search. List every mortgage, judgment, mechanic’s lien and federal tax lien you find in Steps 3 to 5. Each junior one should appear as a defendant, with an affidavit of service in the file.
  4. Check the notice of pendency. It lasts three years unless an extension order is filed before it expires. Anyone who records after it is filed is bound by the case (CPLR 6501). A lapse in the notice can let later liens attach unaffected.
  5. Look for stays and open motions. A bankruptcy filing, an order to show cause or an appeal can stop or unwind a sale. The Kings County foreclosure sales page notes that some listed properties are not sold because of judicial stays or forbearance agreements.

Step 3: Search the City Register and the County Clerk

ACRIS (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx) shows the recorded mortgages, assignments, satisfactions, condominium common charge liens, tax lien sale certificates and federal tax liens. Search both by BBL and by the owner’s name. How to read ACRIS for title explains each document type.

For a bidder, the key question is priority. Find the mortgage being foreclosed, then sort every other recorded lien into senior (recorded earlier, or given priority by a subordination) and junior. A senior mortgage is the single most expensive thing a bidder can miss.

County Clerk. Money judgments, notices of pendency and mechanic’s liens are filed with the County Clerk, not the City Register, so they are not in ACRIS. In Brooklyn, the Kings County Clerk runs money judgment searches at Window 10 in Room 189, or by mail for $10 for a two-year search plus $5 for each additional two years. Queens has its own County Clerk office. Search the borrower’s name and any prior owner whose judgments could still be within their ten-year life. How judgments attach and expire is explained in the title search found a lien or judgment.

Staten Island. Richmond County has no City Register. Deeds, mortgages and federal tax liens are all at the Richmond County Clerk, along with judgments and lis pendens.

Step 4: Check DOF, DEP, OATH and HPD

Taxes and water charges that are liens are normally paid by the referee from the sale proceeds. Charges not paid from proceeds, or shifted to the buyer by the terms of sale, come out of the bidder’s pocket.

Check the DOF property account (taxes, HPD emergency repair charges, converted ECB judgments), DOF’s lien sale lists and ACRIS for liens already sold, and the DEP water balance. DEP’s online account is for the owner, so a bidder usually relies on a title company’s water search or the figures in the case file. Then check OATH for unpaid ECB judgments against the owner; a docketed ECB judgment is treated like any other judgment, so if it is junior the City should be a named defendant. Check HPD and DOB for violations, vacate orders and open permits. Violations are not liens, but they survive the sale and drive repair cost.

Where each record lives is in checking a NYC property for violations, permits and charges. Which ECB and HPD charges follow the property to a new owner is in ECB and HPD charges after a sale.

Step 5: Federal tax liens

A notice of federal tax lien on NYC real property is filed with the City Register for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, and with the Richmond County Clerk for Staten Island (Lien Law § 240). It is indexed by taxpayer name, so run a name search, not only a BBL search.

If the lien is junior, two outcomes matter:

  • The United States was named in the foreclosure. The sale can discharge the lien, but under 28 U.S.C. § 2410(c) the United States keeps a right to redeem the property for 120 days after the sale when the lien arises under the internal revenue laws (or longer if state law allows a longer period). The redemption price is what the buyer paid plus 6% interest and certain expenses (§ 2410(d)).
  • The United States was not named. If the lien notice was filed before the foreclosure began, the sale is made “subject to and without disturbing” the federal lien under 26 U.S.C. § 7425(a). The buyer takes title with the IRS lien still attached.

Check the NYSCEF caption for “United States of America” and for service on the U.S. Attorney. A 120-day redemption window also affects resale and financing until it runs.

Checklist

Source What to find Bidder impact
Terms of sale “Subject to” items Defines what survives
Judgment Payment order, closing date Taxes paid from proceeds
NYSCEF / eCourts Defendants, service, stays Unnamed liens survive
ACRIS Senior and junior mortgages Senior liens survive
County Clerk Judgments, lis pendens, mechanic’s liens Check each was named
DOF account Taxes, ERP, converted ECB Usually paid by referee
DOF lien sale lists Sold tax liens Confirm payoff
DEP Water and sewer balance Usually paid by referee
OATH ECB judgments Check each was named
HPD / DOB Violations, vacate orders Survive; repair cost
Federal tax lien index IRS liens 120-day redemption or survives
Richmond County Clerk All Staten Island filings Replaces ACRIS

Title insurance after the referee’s deed

A referee’s deed can be insured, but not automatically. Underwriters treat a transfer out of foreclosure as a higher-risk file. Stewart’s published New York agent guidelines, for example, require a full review of the foreclosure file when no fee policy was issued from the foreclosure, bankruptcy searches against the foreclosed owners, close attention to named parties, service and notice of pendency lapses, and Schedule B exceptions for service and standing defenses (Stewart NY Guidelines, 2022, XIV.D.1 and XVI.B.7). That is one underwriter’s guidance; others set their own conditions.

A pre-auction title report, run against the foreclosure case, is the clearest preview of what a bidder is buying. Expect exceptions for anything the terms of sale leave the buyer subject to, for unnamed parties, and for any open redemption period.

Official sources

Related guides

Korvane Title is preparing to launch in New York. It is not licensed as a title insurance agent and does not accept title orders. Content on this site is general information, not legal advice.