What legal steps must New York follow to seize and sell commercial real estate after a civil judgment?

1. Entry and docketing: turn a court order into an enforceable judgment lien

Before any seizure or sale, the plaintiff must have an entered judgment and then docket that judgment in the county where the real property is located so it becomes a judgment lien on the debtor’s real estate; New York practice materials and court guidance treat docketing and filing as prerequisites to collection remedies including liens and sale of real property ^{[1] [2]}. The docketed judgment gives the creditor the legal basis to restrain or attach the property and to request an execution from the court or sheriff ^[6].

2. Identify and locate assets: intelligence gathering for enforcement

A creditor must gather precise information about the location and ownership of the commercial property — title records, bank statements, tax rolls, leases and corporate filings — because enforcement officers require clear targets before seeking executions or levies ^{[7] [2]}. New York guidance explicitly instructs creditors to provide as much information as possible to the sheriff’s civil division to enable seizure or lien enforcement ^[7].

3. Levy, service and seizure under CPLR Article 52: two distinct methods

CPLR Article 52 separates “levy by service” (a paper restraint creating or perfecting a lien) from “levy by seizure” (physical taking) and prescribes notice to the debtor; for real property creditors most enforcement begins with a service that creates a lien and can later lead to turnover or sale rather than immediate physical removal of the asset ^{[3] [8]}. For tangible business assets like equipment or inventory a sheriff may seize and hold them for sale, but real estate enforcement typically operates through liens, restraining notices and court-directed sales or auctions ^{[8] [2]}.

4. Execution sale or foreclosure auction: mechanism for converting real estate into proceeds

Once a lien is in place and statutory steps followed, the enforcement officer can move to an execution sale — often a public auction — to apply proceeds to the judgment; in mortgage or foreclosure contexts a judgment of foreclosure expressly directs sale procedures and scheduled auctions under court rules ^{[2] [5]}. County sheriff and court rules govern the timing, notice, and conduct of these auctions, and creditors must comply with local procedures to obtain benefit from sale proceeds ^{[5] [1]}.

5. Exemptions, priorities and competing claims: limits on what a creditor may get

New York law protects certain property from seizure and limits application of proceeds by exemptions under CPLR Section 5205 and other statutes, and liens rank according to priority rules that can reduce or eliminate recovery from a sale if superior encumbrances exist ^{[2] [1]}. Tax authorities and other lienholders may employ separate statutory devices — for example a tax warrant that must be filed before seizure and sale for tax debt — which can alter who controls the sale and the distribution of funds ^[4].

6. Practical alternatives and adversarial dynamics

Practitioners note that rather than immediate seizure creditors often use bank garnishments, income executions, or negotiated payment plans while preserving execution remedies; enforcement officers also charge fees and creditors may be responsible for certain enforcement costs, which can influence strategy ^{[1] [2] [7]}. The law balances creditor recovery against debtor protections, and litigants frequently litigate ownership, exemptions or priority before a sale proceeds, creating delay and transactional risk for both sides ^{[8] [1]}.

This account synthesizes official court guidance, sheriff and statutory sources; it does not purport to catalog every procedural local rule or timing detail — those vary by county and courtroom and are not fully covered in the provided materials ^{[5] [6]}.