New ACRIS will include co-op unit searches, more data

Records database, on hold til Monday, will have new data

David Frankel, Department of Finance Commissioner
David Frankel, Department of Finance Commissioner

ACRIS is getting a makeover. The New York City Department of Finance is updating the Automated City Register Information System, which tracks public real estate records filed throughout the city — including deeds, mortgages and liens — with new functions and additional data.

The maintenance work for the update, which has shut down ACRIS, began yesterday afternoon and will continue until Monday morning.

The new version’s enhancement include, most notably, a document search exclusively for co-op units, a search that will distinguish if a mortgage is being recorded as a refinancing or not, and a document search by date range across all boroughs, according to the department’s website.

Starting in July, real estate professionals will be able to submit property documents electronically.

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Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, echoed the sentiments of many ACRIS users by noting the database’s functionality and accuracy — but surmised there was still room for improvement.

“I certainly would love to have a friendlier user interface,” Miller said. “I don’t think anybody looking at it would argue with me.”

A bigger problem with ACRIS, he continued, is its “consistency of information” in terms of late postings for co-op data, for example.

Representatives for the DOF were not immediately available for comment.