Provides for a notice of conveyance of real property to be sent to the owners of record of residential real property

28 Multi-sponsors

• Michael Benedetto
• William Boyland
• Alec Brook-Krasny
• Joan Christensen
• Barbara Clark
• William Colton
• Francine DelMonte
• Adriano Espaillat
• Sandy Galef
• Deborah Glick
• Dov Hikind
• Janele Hyer-Spencer
• Micah Kellner
• David Koon
• Vito Lopez
• Alan Maisel
• Nettie Mayersohn
• John McEneny
• Joan Millman
• Robert Reilly
• Jose Rivera
• Annette Robinson
• Linda Rosenthal
• Robert Sweeney
• Michele Titus
• Darryl Towns
• Harvey Weisenberg
• Keith L.T. Wright

BILL NUMBER:A3518A

Title of bill

An act to amend the real property law, in relation to notice of sale or transfer of ownership of residential property

Purpose or general idea of bill

: To require the county clerk or city register to provide notice to the owner of record when recording a conveyance of residential real property.

Summary of specific provisions

: This bill amends section 291, as amended by chapter 447 of the laws of 1984, section 292-b and section 412 of the Real Property Law Article 12 to require the county clerk or city registrar, where applicable, to provide written notice to the title owner of record and any interested party of the recording of the conveyance to a new owner. The cost of recording the conveyance shall be prescribed by the municipality and shall be charged to the person seeking to record such conveyance or requesting the notice.

Justification

: According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) real estate and mortgage fraud is vastly on the rise. In 2007 the FBI received 46,717 Suspicious Activity Reports related to real estate and mortgage fraud -compared to 35,617 in 2006 and just 6,936 in 2003. Only 7% of these reports documented an exact dollar amount in terms of losses, but even so, the total loss from this 7% was $813 million. The FBI's caseload has also escalated. By the end of fiscal year 2007, the Bureau experienced a 47% increase in reel estate cases from 2006 and a whopping 176% increase from 2003.

One of the more common means to defraud is through the fraudulent transfer of land title to obtain home equity lines of Credit. Criminals also target residential vacant properties or houses put up for sale. In fact, the FBI reports that at least twenty percent (20%) of all title transfers are the result of some fraud. To facilitate these schemes, perpetrators often pose as new owner of a home in order to transfer the title. Once the title transfer is complete the perpetrator can use the new title to obtain a home equity line of credit.

Among those affected by this egregious crime, the elderly are the most vulnerable victims. Senior citizens, often owners of homes that are fully paid for, without a mortgage, and therefore with no bank or institution having a vested interest in their property, are especially vulnerable to fraudulent transfers. Data from law enforcement and industry sources were compared and mapped to determine which areas of the country were most affected by mortgage fraud during 2007. Information from the FBI, Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), Fannie Mae, RealtyTrac Inc., Interthinx , and Radian Guaranty Inc., indicate that New York State was among the top 10 mortgage fraud states for 2007.

Prior legislative history

:; 2007-2008 A11801

Fiscal implications

: None to the State.

Effective date

This act shall take effect the ninetieth day after it shall become law,