Articles Posted in General Interest

Did you know that New York State has in the past, and continues to, sell, give, and transfer portions of navigable waters to interested upland owners. What does that mean?

Ever wonder who owns the lands under the Hudson River? In river communities where water front property is valuable for its view, the land can also be valuable for land you cannot see– the land under water.

“Land under water”‘ is land submerged by water, and includes that land below the high water mark in navicable waters (rivers), tidal water (estuaries), lakes and ponds, and, at times, can appear to be dry land (perhaps it was previously filled naturally by development). The owner of property on “dry land” is referred to as the “Upland Owner,” and is often benefited by actually owning the rights to the land under water. Generally speaking, New York State owns the land under all navigable lakes, streams, and rivers.

When you are buying your house did you consider whether you can have a professional office, whether you can add an addition to the north side, whether you can live in the third floor attic? These are all questions relating to the building and zoning laws both of New York State and the local town, county or village where you are buying. So what questions should you ask your real estate broker, your building inspector, your lawyer.

Here’s a quick list of some of the issues you should consider when you look at the property, whether it is residential real estate or a New York City building.

Does the property have a certificate of occupancy?

Is the price of re-financing worth the expense in New York? Well, as you can imagine, that depends.

As a recent NYTimes article points out, as the prices for mortgages drop, consumer interest perks up, and we all go around wondering whether it makes sense to re-finance again!!

Here’s the rub– typical real estate mortgages last for about five to seven years before the mortgagor (homeowner) sells or refinances, but lenders compensate for such fluctuation by collecting much of the mortgage interest up front. So, if you are in your home for the long term, and have paid off more than five to seven years worth of debt, you are watching your equity grow and the overall debt drop more quickly– a nice thought in today’s market. But, now the banks are offering very low interest rates (less than five percent in some cases). Now what?

How do you sell your distressed home or refinance your real estate if you have a federal or state tax lien?

Well, WSJournal.com reports that the IRS is trying to help themselves get paid for their tax liens more quickly, thereby speeding up relief to distressed homeowners trying to re-finance.

Under the new “expedited process,” the refinancing and sellers can find out more “quickly” how much they owe on a federal tax lien, so the lien does not delay or prohibit the transaction.

It appears that the Federal Government is getting a little more needy, because it is now going to collect more capital gains taxes on the sales of residential real estate property in New York.

As discussed in other posts, under the “The Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008,” homeowners no longer are simply allowed to exclude $250,000 of capital gains ($500K if filing jointly). Indeed, the calculation becomes more difficult because the gain will now be taxed on the percentage of time you used the home as your “primary residence.”

Yes, now for the “jargon.” Capital gains must now be divided between “qualifying” and “non-qualifying” uses, and potentially cutting the amount of capital gain which might previously have been “excluded” from your income tax.