Data shows that from 1996-2021, the Hudson Valley region lost a net total of 146,763 people to out migration, which calculates out to 5% of the Hudson Valley’s population.
Elected officials, seeking to appease vocal constituents, frequently uphold restrictive zoning laws that favor single-family residences over more diverse housing options.
In 2023, the Rockland County Office of Consumer Protection investigated 617 complaints and returned $66,000 to homeowners.
In December of 2018 the Westchester County Executive George Latimer signed legislation into law to guarantee a measure of protection to prospective co-op purchasers.
Thus far, more than 300 rejections of prospective buyers have occurred since the co-op law went into effect. This is an inordinate number of rejections. and there are many questions that remain unanswered regarding the reasons for the rejections.
So far, only two fines have been issued for violations. In many cases the Human Rights Commission did not receive contact information, such as a phone number or e-mail address when they received a rejection notice from a co-op board. They do not have stats on an actual rejection rate. They do not know how many acceptances there have been.
There are significant changes that both HGAR and the Human Rights Commission support. HGAR, and the Human Rights Commission support a mandatory standardized form for use by all co-ops. Both support a mandatory reason in writing that specifies why a person is being denied be provided by the relevant co-op boards. Many Realtors have also stated that the co-op board should be mandated to tell the prospective purchaser the specific financial reasons why they were denied.
Another component of any additional legislation that we support is a mandatory acceptance of an offer after the 60-day timeline (from the time the offer is presented) if the board has not given any response to the prospective purchaser in that time frame. This is viewed as the best way to force the co-op board to act in a timely manner.
Some legislators are suggesting they would support this while other legislators suggest they would not and instead support major fines if the board does not act in 60 days. In every jurisdiction where a co-op law has passed, it included automatic acceptance of the offer if the board did not respond in the time frame that the law mandated, with the exception of Nassau County. Stay tuned for updates as legislation moves forward.
A significant portion of our end-of-session efforts was focused on opposing legislative proposals that would have negatively impacted New York’s real estate sector.
It is important for an attorney to inform the seller the Property Condition Disclosure Statement does not require a seller to make any independent investigations relating to the subject matter contained in each of the questions contained therein.
NAR had several topics it wanted HGAR and the rest of the Realtor community on the Hill that day to hammer home.
This dispute could have far-reaching implications beyond the real estate industry, as the split-decision ruling from the Circuit Court conflicts with the existing precedent of both the D.C. Circuit Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
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