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Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the real property law, in relation to establishing The New York protect title to my home act
Purpose or general idea of bill
To prevent the fraudulent transfer of residential real property title.
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 thirty days prior to recording of the conveyance to a new owner. The legislation allows homeowners to designate a third party designee who shall also receive a notice of the conveyance. The bill bars recording of conveyance where the owner of record has submitted an affidavit in objection of the transaction. Where the conveyance of property was executed fraudulently such conveyance shall be rendered void and the title shall remain vested with the original owner of record. Without the presence of fraud, failure to mail such notice shall not affect the validity of the conveyance of the property owned by such person. The bill penalizes willful violators; subjecting them to a class E felony and a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), imprisonment in accordance with the penal law or both. 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.
Read the full memo (777 words)
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 real 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. After the title is transferred it becomes very difficult for the owners to reclaim their ownership of the property, which requires costly legal representation. Seniors whose homes have mortgages fair better, because the banks provide legal representation to insure that their interest are protected. However, those whose homes are paid off do not get that benefit. As such, they must incur the financial burden imposed by this crime. 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(R), and Radian Guaranty Inc., indicate that New York State was among the top 10 mortgage fraud states for 2007. This legislation would require that the county clerk or city registrar notify all homeowners, their third party designees and all other interested parties that documents to transfer ownership of the property has been filed. In addition, it would require the county clerk or city registrar to wait thirty (30) days prior to recording the transfer, thereby allowing the homeowner adequate time to file an objection to the conveyance. By making it more difficult for perpetrators to fraudulently convey a title, this legislation would safeguard against this egregious crime and protect the property owners, of this state, especially our vulnerable senior citizens from losing their most valuable asset due to fraud.
Prior legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This act shall take effect the ninetieth day after it shall become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.