From selecting a broker and pricing strategy to board approval and the closing table — the step-by-step process for selling a Manhattan apartment, with guidance from advisors who have represented sellers for more than 15 years.
Selling your home or investment property is a major financial and legal decision. Working with an exclusive seller's agent, the process runs through ten clear stages — from choosing a broker and setting the right list price, to marketing, negotiating an offer, clearing the board, and closing. Below is the step-by-step path, plus what to expect at each stage and how the Manhattan process differs from Miami.
The first three weeks generate the most qualified traffic. An accurate, data-backed list price draws competing offers; an aspirational one stalls the listing and invites lowball bids.
Staging, decluttering, professional photography, and a clean floor plan routinely return more than they cost and shorten time on market.
In a co-op especially, an under-qualified buyer who fails the board wastes weeks. Vetting financials up front protects your closing timeline.
Interview exclusive seller's agents and compare track record, local expertise, marketing plan, and a written comparative market analysis (CMA). The right agent represents you alone — not the buyer — and should show real, recent results in your building or neighborhood.
You and your agent sign a listing agreement — typically an exclusive right to sell — setting the term, commission, and scope of marketing. This formalizes the relationship and lets your agent invest fully in selling your home.
Using comparable closed sales, current competing listings, and live market conditions, you set a strategic asking price. The goal is to attract the widest pool of qualified buyers in the critical opening weeks — not to leave money on the table or chase the market down.
Declutter, complete cosmetic repairs, and stage the space. We arrange professional photography, a measured floor plan, and where it helps, video — the assets that make your listing stand out across every search portal.
Before accepting an offer we confirm the buyer's financing and proof of funds. For co-ops this is essential: the building's board sets minimum income, post-closing liquidity, and debt-to-income requirements that the buyer must satisfy.
Your listing is syndicated to the major portals, shared across the broker community, and promoted through targeted digital campaigns and our international client base. Broker and public open houses put the property in front of motivated buyers.
We present each offer with the buyer's financial profile and negotiate price, terms, contingencies, and timing on your behalf. Once you accept, the terms are memorialized in a deal sheet circulated to both attorneys.
The attorneys handle the contract: the seller's attorney drafts it, the buyer's attorney conducts due diligence on the building and the unit, and the buyer signs and delivers a contract deposit — customarily 10% — held in escrow until closing.
For a co-op, the buyer assembles a board application — financial statements, tax returns, reference letters — followed by a board interview. For most condos, the board instead reviews an application and waives its right of first refusal. (In Miami, this stage is typically an HOA/condo association estoppel and approval rather than a board interview.)
After the buyer's final walkthrough, all parties meet to close: title transfers, the balance of funds is paid, transfer taxes and commissions are settled, and the keys change hands. Your sale is complete.
It varies with price, condition, and market conditions, but a well-priced, well-presented apartment typically goes into contract within a few weeks to a couple of months. From accepted offer to closing then usually takes another 60–90 days, driven largely by financing and — for co-ops — the board approval timeline.
The largest seller cost is the brokerage commission, plus attorney fees, NYC and New York State transfer taxes, and any building flip tax or move-out fees. Your net proceeds depend on these closing costs and any remaining mortgage payoff — we prepare an estimated net-proceeds sheet before you list.
An exclusive seller's (or estate) agent represents only the seller in the transaction. We prepare and list your property, market it to brokers and buyers, host open houses, and negotiate on your behalf — always with your interests as the sole priority.
No. We are a real estate advisory and brokerage firm, not a law or accounting firm. We coordinate closely with your attorney and accountant on the financial and legal consequences of a sale, and can introduce attorneys and CPAs who routinely handle NYC and Miami transactions.
Every engagement begins with a private discussion — objectives, timing, tax posture.
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Current asking prices and new listings the moment they hit the market.
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