NY State Senate Bill 2019-S5372

Senate Bill S5372

Signed By Governor

2019-2020 Legislative Session

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

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - Signed by Governor

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Dec 12, 2019	signed chap.641
Dec 06, 2019	delivered to governor
Jun 20, 2019	returned to senate passed assembly ordered to third reading cal.216 substituted for a440a
Jun 19, 2019	referred to judiciary
Jun 18, 2019	delivered to assembly passed senate ordered to third reading cal.1557 committee discharged and committed to rules
Apr 29, 2019	referred to judiciary

Votes

- Jun 18, 2019 - Floor Vote
  S5372
  
  43
  
  Aye
  
  19
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 18, 2019
      
      aye (43)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      Felder
      
      Gaughran
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gounardes
      
      Harckham
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Jacobs
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kaplan
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Martinez
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Metzger
      
      Montgomery
      
      Myrie
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rivera
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Thomas
      
      nay (19)
      
      Akshar
      
      Amedore
      
      Antonacci
      
      Flanagan
      
      Funke
      
      Gallivan
      
      Griffo
      
      Helming
      
      Jordan
      
      LaValle
      
      Little
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ortt
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Ritchie
      
      Robach
      
      Serino
      
      Seward
      
      Tedisco
  Jun 18, 2019 - Rules Committee Vote
  S5372
  
  15
  
  Aye
  
  3
  
  Nay
  
  1
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Rules Committee Vote: Jun 18, 2019
      
      aye (15)
      
      Benjamin
      
      Breslin
      
      Comrie
      
      Gianaris
      
      Griffo
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Martinez
      
      Parker
      
      Savino
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      nay (3)
      
      Flanagan
      
      Little
      
      Seward
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      Robach

2019-S5372 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A440
Law Section:: Real Property Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §291, RP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: A3518
2011-2012: A4748
2013-2014: A4813
2015-2016: A6685
2017-2018: A1785

2019-S5372 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for a notice of conveyance of real property to be sent to the owners of record of residential real property; provides persons filing for conveyance shall bear the cost of mailing.

2019-S5372 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5372

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
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:

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

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends 5 291 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 party seeking to record such conveyance shall be ar the cost of such
written notice. The clerk of the county or city registrar is entitled to
charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of mailing the envelope to the
owner of record.

Section 2 of the bill provides the effective date.

 
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 715 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 case- load
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 perpe-
trator 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 insti-
tution having a vested interest in their property, are especially
vulnerable to fraudulent transfers. Data from law enforcement and indus-
try 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:

2017-2018: A.1785/S.2296 - Third Reading Calendar/Judiciary
2015-2016: A.6685-B/S.7955-A - Third Reading Calendar / Judiciary
2013-2014: A.4813 - Referred to Judiciary
2011-2012: A.4748 - Referred to Judiciary
2010: A.3518-A - Referred to Judiciary
2009: A.3518-A -Third Reading Calendar
2008: A.11801 - Referred to Judiciary

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Ninety days after becoming law.

2019-S5372 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5372
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 29, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- 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 ASSEM-
 BLY, 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, with-
 in 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 situ-
 ated, 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 ninety-
 four-a of [the real property law] THIS ARTICLE, in good faith and for  a
 valuable  consideration, from the same vendor or assignor, his distribu-
 tees or devisees, and whose conveyance, contract or assignment is  first
 duly  recorded, and is void as against the lien upon the same real prop-
 erty 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.

                                                            LBD05315-03-9

 S. 5372                             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 CLERK OF THE COUNTY OR CITY REGISTRAR  IS  ENTITLED
 TO  CHARGE A REASONABLE FEE TO COVER THE COST OF MAILING THE ENVELOPE TO
 THE OWNER OF RECORD.  FAILURE TO MAIL SUCH NOTICE OR THE FAILURE OF  ANY
 PARTY  TO RECEIVE THE SAME, SHALL NOT AFFECT THE VALIDITY OF THE CONVEY-
 ANCE OF THE PROPERTY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

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