What's happening
This bill requires county clerks or city registrars to mail written notice to the current owner when ownership of residential property is sold or transferred.
Why it matters
Helps prevent property fraud and scams. By requiring official notification to the current owner whenever ownership of their residential property is transferred, the bill provides an early warning system that can alert homeowners to fraudulent or unauthorized transfers.
Empowers homeowners to take timely action. The notice includes clear instructions advising the current owner to seek legal counsel or contact law enforcement if they have questions or suspect criminal activity, potentially reducing the time it takes to respond to fraudulent conveyances.
Shifts administrative costs to the party recording the transfer. The responsibility for providing a pre-stamped envelope and covering mailing costs falls on the individual or entity initiating the property transfer, ensuring that taxpayers and government agencies are not burdened with the expense.
Formalizes communication and recordkeeping. The standardized, bold notification format and requirement to mail notice for every residential property transfer create a consistent process, which could make it easier to track and investigate property transfers across the state.
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Who cares
Residential property owners
They would receive mailed notice of a recorded ownership transfer, with instructions to seek legal counsel to dispute it or contact law enforcement if they suspect a crime.
County clerks and city registrars
They would have to mail owners of record a prescribed notice identifying the property, filing date and new owner.
Parties recording residential conveyances
They would bear the notice cost and submit a pre-stamped envelope with sufficient first-class postage when filing the conveyance.
Local law enforcement and the New York City sheriff’s office
The required notice would direct owners who believe they are victims of a crime related to the recording to contact these offices.
Headline styles
Notify Homeowners of Property Sales
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Notify Homeowners of Property Sales
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor N. Nick Perry
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2966
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 18, 2017
Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to notice of sale or transfer of ownership of residential property
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 291 of the real property law, as amended by chapter 447 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
§ 291. Recording of conveyances. A conveyance of real property, within the state, on being duly acknowledged by the person executing the same, or proved as required by this chapter, and such acknowledgment or proof duly certified when required by this chapter, may be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county where such real property is situated, and such county clerk or city registrar where applicable shall, upon the request of any party, on tender of the lawful fees therefor, record the same in [his] said office. Every such conveyance not so recorded is void as against any person who subsequently purchases or acquires by exchange or contracts to purchase or acquire by exchange, the same real property or any portion thereof, or acquires by assignment the rent to accrue therefrom as provided in section two hundred ninetyfour-a of [the real property law] this article, in good faith and for a valuable consideration, from the same vendor or assignor, his distributees or devisees, and whose conveyance, contract or assignment is first duly recorded, and is void as against the lien upon the same real property or any portion thereof arising from payments made upon the execution of or pursuant to the terms of a contract with the same vendor, his distributees or devisees, if such contract is made in good faith and is first duly recorded. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase in the principal balance of a mortgage lien by virtue of the addition thereto of unpaid interest in accordance with the terms of the mortgage shall retain the priority of the original mortgage lien as so
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04243-01-7
S. 2966 2
increased provided that any such mortgage instrument sets forth its terms of repayment. The clerk of the county or city registrar where such conveyance of residential real property is recorded and maintained shall mail a written notice of such conveyance to the owner of record. The notice shall have the heading printed in 20 point bold type and read as follows: "NOTICE OF SALE OR TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF YOUR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. To:______________________________
Name of owner of record
Our records show that you are listed as the current owner of record for residential property:
Block # __________ Lot # ________
Located At: ___________________________
street address
in the county of __________________ New York On ____________, documents were filed at this
date office to change ownership and transfer title of your property.
To: ______________________________
name of new owner
If you have any questions regarding the validity of the documents, and wish to dispute the recording of the transfer, you should obtain legal counsel. If you believe you are a victim of a crime related to this recording, contact your local law enforcement agency or, if in the City of New York, the office of the sheriff." The party seeking to record such conveyance shall bear the cost of such written notice. The party seeking to record the conveyance shall submit, contemporaneously with the filing of the document of conveyance, a pre-stamped envelope bearing sufficient postage to mail a large envelope by first class mail. Failure to mail such notice or the failure of any party to receive the same, shall not affect the validity of the conveyance of the property.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
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 provisions
Section 1 of this bill amends section 291 of the Real Property Law to require the county clerk or city registrar, where applicable, to provide written notice to the title owner of record of the conveyance to a new owner. The person seeking to record such conveyance shall submit with the filing of the document of conveyance, a pre-stamped envelope with sufficient postage to mail a large envelope by first class mail.
Section 2 of this bill provides that the act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
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 FBI 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 owners 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
2016: S.7955-A - Referred to Judiciary
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.