What does it actually cost to move?
The listing shows the rent or the price. Getting in the door takes more: a deposit, fees, a guarantor if you need one, or for buyers, closing costs and a co-op board's reserves, plus the movers and the month you pay for two places. This itemizes all of it with the same math as the rent, co-op, and condo calculators, and sorts it by what you actually lose.
The move itself
Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere. Defaults come from our sources page.
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- For the home
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- For the move
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Calculated estimates. Moving costs are placeholders until you enter your own quotes.
Renting. Signing costs come from the same engine as the rent calculator: first month's rent, a security deposit (capped at one month's rent under NY law), the $20 cap on application fees, and building move-in fees. Under the FARE Act, a broker the landlord hired is paid by the landlord, so a broker fee only appears if you hired your own. A guarantor company charges a one-time fee per lease year that you don't get back. See security deposits and move-in costs.
Buying. Down payment, closing costs, the mansion tax at $1M and up, and mortgage recording tax on condo loans come from the co-op and condo calculators. A co-op board's post-closing reserves aren't spent, but the cash has to be there, so they count toward what you need on hand. The total matches the savings planner's cash target, plus utilities and the move.
Four kinds of money. Spent is gone: fees, taxes, movers. Equity is the down payment: it leaves your account but you own it. Comes back is a deposit you should get back: a security deposit when you move out, a co-op's move-in deposit once the move is done without damage. Stays in your account is money a co-op board needs to see after closing. They all have to be in hand on move-in day.
What it can't see: a specific building's fees, your movers' actual quote, prorated rent or maintenance adjustments at closing, or lender credits. Not sure whether to rent or buy at all? Try rent vs. buy. See the methodology.