Fair Housing Initiatives Launched on the Federal and State Levels

Andrew Lieb, Esq. takes a look at the most recent Fair Housing Initiatives.

Click here to read the full article published in The Suffolk Lawyer.

STAR Credit Program Undergoes Two Critical Changes

The New York State School Tax Relief (STAR) program has changed. Rather than working with the local assessor, as was required in the past, homeowners will now need to register with New York State in order to apply for the program. Additionally, qualifying homeowners will receive a rebate check in the fall of every year rather than receiving a reduction directly on their school property tax bill.

There are two types of STAR benefits:

• Basic STAR: At least one owner must use the property as a primary residence and the total combined household income of the owners and owners’ spouses who use the property as a primary residence must be $500,000 or less.
• Enhanced STAR: At least one owner must use the property as a primary residence, all owners must be 65 years or older, and there must be a total combined household income of all owners (not just those who reside at the property) and any owner’s spouse who uses the property as a primary residence of $84,550. All owners do not need to be over the age of 65 if they are spouses, registered domestic partners or siblings so long as at least one owner is at least 65.

Starting this year, qualifying homeowners must register with New York State, which can be done online here or by phone at 518-457-2036, in order to apply for the STAR program. If the homeowners qualify, they will receive their STAR credit as a rebate check each September.

If homeowners are already receiving a STAR exemption and purchased their primary residence prior to May 1, 2014, they do not need to re-register to continue qualifying for the exemption, and they will continue to receive the exemption as a reduction on their school property tax bill. Only those who purchased their primary residence after August 1, 2015 or did not apply before the 2015 STAR application deadline are affected by these changes. 

Homeowners can check your local assessment roll to see if they are already receiving a STAR exemption. Understanding how the STAR credit program works and what changes have been implemented can help save time and money into the future. 

New Making Home Affordable Handbook Released: Program to End in 2016

The U.S. Department of Treasury recently released Supplemental Directive 16-04 (Making Home Affordable Program – Handbook for Servicers Version 5.1).  This Supplemental Directive announces the release of Version 5.1 of the Making Home Affordable (“MHA”) Handbook (the “Handbook”).  This newest version of the Handbook consolidates the “sunset” provisions provided by the U.S. Department of Treasury in Supplemental Directive 16-02 (MHA Program Termination and Borrower Application Sunset) and Supplemental Directive 16-03 (MHA Program Termination and Borrower Application Sunset II) into one location for ease of reference.

Distressed homeowners who are facing foreclosure must submit their request for mortgage assistance under the MHA program by December 31, 2016.  After that date, lenders will no longer be required to comply with the MHA guidelines set forth in the Handbook.  This will leave many distressed homeowners with few remaining options and most will face the possibility of foreclosure.

The MHA program was announced in 2009, by the Obama Administration, as a relief to distressed homeowners.  The MHA program’s objective is to provide guidelines to lenders to modify the terms of eligible mortgages so that “at-risk” homeowners would be able to reduce their monthly mortgage payments and to avoid foreclosure.  According to the most recent MHA Program Performance Report, during the last 7 years, the MHA program has only helped 2.5 million of the 7 to 9 million homeowners that were identified as “at-risk” by the Obama Administration in 2009.  This means that the remaining 4.5 to 6.5 million “at-risk” homeowners who do not submit their request for borrower assistance by December 31, 2016, will be faced with foreclosure.

Congress’ decision to abandon the MHA program seems misguided because of the time and resources it has invested in the program.  Most importantly, the termination of the program on December 31, 2016, leaves up to 6.5 million “at-risk” homeowners scrambling to submit requests for assistance of face the possibility of foreclosure. 

Saving on Real Estate Brokerage Commission

You may think that you can save money in real estate by not using a Buyer’s Agent. On the contrary, it is often argued that there is no savings because the secondary benefits of using a Buyer’s Agent surpass any costs of such a Buyer’s Agent. Nonetheless, the only factor that can actually save you money in brokerage commission in a real estate transaction is if it’s a Direct Deal.

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. here.

Agency Disclosure Simplified - A Must Read

Finally, an article that simplifies this extremely complicated agency disclosure topic.

Buyer’s Agent. Seller’s Agent. Direct Deal. The terms may sound familiar, but do you or your clients or customers really know what they mean? That knowledge is essential for all sides in real estate dealings, particularly in understanding commissions and not violating license laws.

What’s in a Name? In Real Estate It Could Be the Difference Between a Great Deal & No Deal, is written by Andrew Lieb, Esq. one of the premiere lecturers on this topic.