BILL NUMBER: S8848
SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property law, in relation to requiring a sworn
affidavit stating the seller was informed of the fair market value of
the property be included in the real property transfer form
 
PURPOSE:
This bill seeks to end predatory speculation in New York State's real
estate markets by requiring purchasers of residential real property to
disclose to the seller of residential real property its fair market
value.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Subparagraphs 7 and 8 of paragraph ii of subdivision 1-e of section 333
of the real property law, as amended by section 1 of part B of chapter
57 of the laws of 2004, are amended and a new subparagraph 9 is added.
§ 2. Act and effective date.
 
EXISTING LAW:
None.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
According to an investigative series published by THE CITY, communities
across the state of New York are experiencing a rise in predatory real
estate speculation that specifically targets properties in New York's
historically black and latino neighborhoods. These predatory real
estate speculators target properties in black and latino neighborhoods
that:
(1) are inherited by multiple individuals that own fractional shares and
live far from each other and the original owner did not have a will.
(2) are worth millions of dollars.
Once speculators have identified properties with these kinds of circum-
stances, they reach out to the shareholders furthest from the property,
many of whom do not know they had even inherited a share of the proper-
ty, or know what it is worth, and offer to buy the share well below what
it is actually worth.
Once a share or multiple shares are acquired, the speculators under
state law can bring the remaining shareholders to court and force a sale
of the property, again, paying below what the fair market value of the
entire home is, pushing out the shareholders that live under the roof
and then sell the property for many times what they paid for it.
The intent of this bill is to address this predatory real estate specu-
lation by requiring the buyer to inform the seller of the property's
fair market value.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundredth and eightieth day after
it shall have become law.