Sixty to ninety days, three free websites, and one title search — that’s the whole audit
Nearly every issue in this series — illegal decks, open permits, missing C of O, encroachments, curb cuts, sidewalk liens, mechanic’s liens, judgments, and tax liens — can be surfaced by you, for little or nothing, before a buyer’s title report ever lands.
The toolkit is small: the DOB Building Information System and DOB NOW for permits and violations, the Richmond County Clerk or a title company for recorded liens, and the City’s ZoLa map for zoning. A current survey rounds it out.
This is the step-by-step walkthrough. Run it 60 to 90 days before you list, and you’ll head to market knowing exactly what a buyer will find — with time to fix what matters.
The entire premise of this series is that finding a problem yourself is cheap and finding it at the closing table is expensive. This audit is how you find it yourself. None of it requires a license or special access — just a couple of evenings, a modest title-search fee, and the willingness to compare what the City has on record against what’s actually standing on your lot.
Why a self-audit beats waiting
When you find a defect first, you control the response: you choose the contractor, the timeline, and the budget, and you fix it quietly before anyone’s leverage is on the line. When a buyer’s title report or survey finds it, you’re negotiating a credit or a holdback under a deadline, with a nervous buyer and an impatient lender. Same defect, completely different cost. This audit is simply the act of looking first.
“Every seller I’ve guided through this has had the same reaction afterward: relief. Knowing what’s in your file — even when it’s bad news — beats being blindsided three weeks before closing every single time.”
Step one: pull your building file
Start with the Department of Buildings. Search your address in the Building Information System (BIS) and in DOB NOW, and note three things: every open permit, every open violation (DOB and ECB/OATH), and the Certificate of Occupancy on record. Then walk your home room by room against that C of O. Every finished basement, deck, dormer, extra bathroom, or converted space that isn’t reflected is a flag for the legalization and open-permit conversations.
Print your C of O and your permit history. Physically check each box against your actual home. The mismatches are your to-do list, and finding them now is what keeps them cheap.
Step two: pull your title and liens
This is the step generic NYC advice gets wrong for Staten Island. Do not rely on ACRIS — it does not cover Richmond County. Instead, order a title search through a title company, or search the Richmond County Clerk records, for docketed judgments (including old credit-card cases), mechanic’s liens, federal and state tax liens, and sidewalk liens. A professional title search is inexpensive and surfaces everything recorded against you and the property at once.
If you do only one paid step in this audit, make it the title search through the Richmond County Clerk or a title company. It is the single most reliable way to see what a buyer’s title company will see — and it’s the step ACRIS-based advice skips on Staten Island.
Step three: survey and zoning
Order a current survey, or at least locate your most recent one, and compare it against your deed for encroachments — fences, driveways, or structures over a boundary line. Then look up your property on the Department of City Planning’s ZoLa map to confirm your zoning district and check open-space and front-yard parking requirements. A fresh survey you commission is far less disruptive than the one a buyer’s lender orders late in the deal.
An old survey in your drawer may predate a fence, addition, or curb cut that’s since gone up. If anything physical has changed since it was drawn, it won’t show the current reality — and the buyer’s new survey will.
Step four: triage and sequence
Now turn your findings into a plan. Put the long-lead items first: tax liens, C of O and legalization work, and anything requiring DOB filings and inspections all run on slow clocks and should start immediately. Recorded money liens — judgments, mechanic’s liens — are often resolved at closing but need a confirmed payoff figure in hand. Sidewalk repairs and minor items can be scheduled closer to listing. The goal is simple: nothing on your title or in your building file should be a surprise to anyone.
Make three lists: fix-now (long lead), plan-for-closing (payoffs), and quick-fix (cosmetic/sidewalk). Then start the fix-now list today. That ordering is the whole difference between a calm sale and a scramble.
For the issue-by-issue detail behind every step here, work back through the clear-title playbook and its linked deep-dives.
Frequently asked questions
How far before listing should I run this audit?
Sixty to ninety days is the sweet spot. Long-lead items — tax liens, Certificate of Occupancy work, and legalizations requiring DOB filings and inspections — need the most time, so the earlier you surface them, the more options and leverage you keep.
Can I really check for these problems myself?
Largely, yes. The building-file check on BIS and DOB NOW and the zoning check on ZoLa are free and public. The one step worth paying for is a professional title search, which reliably surfaces every recorded lien against you and the property at once.
Why can’t I use ACRIS for the Staten Island title check?
ACRIS covers Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, not Richmond County. Staten Island’s deeds, mortgages, and liens are recorded with the Richmond County Clerk. Use the County Clerk’s records or a title company — relying on ACRIS will miss your file.
What do I do with what I find?
Triage it. Start long-lead fixes (tax liens, C of O, legalizations) immediately, line up payoff figures for money liens to clear at closing, and schedule minor items like sidewalk repairs closer to listing. The aim is that nothing in your file surprises a buyer.
Anthony Licciardello, Broker, The Prodigy Team
Anthony is a licensed real estate broker in New York and New Jersey and has run The Prodigy Team across Staten Island and New Jersey for more than 20 years. A former Director of Community Affairs in the Bloomberg administration and a member of the Staten Island Growth Management Task Force, he has spent his career on the land-use, zoning, and title issues that decide whether a Staten Island sale actually closes. Questions about your own property? Call 718-873-7345 or visit his agent profile.
Want this audit done for you? That’s exactly how we prep a Staten Island listing.
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This article provides general information for Staten Island homeowners and does not constitute legal, tax, or title advice. Laws, fees, and City programs change; verify current requirements with the relevant agency and consult a licensed attorney, tax professional, or title company about your specific property.