Jerome Strelov Esq.

STAR. What exactly is  STAR? STAR is a New York State tax relief program that lowers property taxes for owner-occupied primary residences (click here for a STAR Exemption FAQ sheet).  Meaning, to be eligible for the STAR reduction, you must own a property that you use as your primary residence.  The STAR exemption applies only to school district taxes. There are two levels of STAR benefits – Basic STAR and Enhanced STAR. Continue reading »

SCRIE: The Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption(SCRIE) offers assistance to eligible seniors from having to pay certain rent increases. Senior citizen tenants who reside in rent control or rent stabilized apartments can apply for SCRIE through the NYC Department of Finance (“DOF”) and may be entitled to an exemption from future rent increases (click here for the application).If the tenant is approved, the owner of the building will receive a corresponding credit against their real estate taxes from the City of New York.  Continue reading »

Lot Line Windows are windows on the boundary line of your building that can be blocked up if the property they are next to is built up higher than the windows.  So that wonderful view from your lot line window may not be there forever.

Assessments: These are charges over and above the usual common charges or maintenance and should be temporary and cover very specific items such as major renovations.  Find out how long they are to run for and what they are for.  If they are to cover usual operating expenses rather than “one time” expenses, you should drill down to find out what is going on and, if you cannot get a reasonable answer, consider moving on to another property.

Transfer Taxes: The City and State charge the Seller taxes for selling a co-op or condominium. The rate for the State is $2.00 per $500.00 of the purchase price (or .4%) and for the City it is 1.425% for apartments above $500,000.00 and 1% for apartments less than that. Most contracts with Sponsors require the Buyer to pay these taxes, in addition to the Mansion Tax but, in today’s market, this is often negotiable.

For more information on the State transfer taxes click here – and for a bit more on the City transfer taxes click here.