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Any document or piece of information one could need regarding real estate transactions in New York City is easily accessible thanks to a program called ACRIS.

“ACRIS stands for the Automated City Register Information System. Basically what it does is compile information sent through the city registrar’s office and for the Department of Finance for New York City. So you can search property records and any recorded instruments: deeds, mortgage satisfactions, liens and things like that,” says Ivana Tagliamonte, executive vice president of Halstead Property.

Every single real estate document that goes through the city as public record is just that: public. Instead of going down to the department of finance, you can have access to a library of information and actually see for yourself what’s been signed, sealed and delivered.

Tagliamonte is one of many brokers who rely on ACRIS each day. She says while it is a lifeline for real estate professionals, most New Yorkers have never heard of it. NY1 asked her to explain exactly what it can do.

“As a buyer, ACRIS can be helpful in researching the past history of an apartment: how many times has it traded hands, what were the values the apartment actually sold for, and what’s nice about this system is that because the information is fed through the city, we know it’s accurate,” says Tagliamonte.

Buyers can also validate that a renovation on a home they are buying included the proper permits and work orders. They can view copies of land surveys.

It also allows sellers to verify tax information so they can make sure they are up to date on everything before they put a home on the market. It even helps people calculate closing costs on the property.

“It breaks it all down for you. So you can go to the page and actually calculate the closing costs, mortgage transfer taxes, the mortgage recording fees and all of those things,” says Tagliamonte.

This online register is free to the public and very user friendly. There are several ways to search for information, and there is so much data available on it that it can be overwhelming and even a little voyeuristic.

To check out the site, visit nyc.gov/ACRIS.