Blog Posts in 2007
Posted on Oct 28, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
Long Island Housing Partnership is a government program that provide $15,000 towards down payment and closing costs of a qualifying home in Nassau County, New York. There are income requirements, and ...
Continue reading "Long Island Housing Partnership - Home Down Payment Assistance" »
Posted on Oct 21, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
Many people in foreclosure, who have equity in their home, attempt to negotiate with the bank for a forebearance agreement, a short sale, or a refinance with a different lender to bail them out before ...
Continue reading "Bankruptcy and Foreclosure" »
Posted on Oct 4, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
I’m fast approaching my ten year anniversary of being admitted to practice in New York. This brings to mind one of my first adventures in being a lawyer at the first law firm I worked for as an ...
Continue reading "Prosecutor for a Day" »
Posted on Sep 14, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
Everyone knows that housing prices are down from the past two years. Houses on my street in Baldwin were selling for a high as $500,000 approximately two years ago. That lasted for about three months, ...
Continue reading "Housing Bubble" »
Posted on Sep 12, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
First American Title Insurance Company is offering a product called Eagle 9, which is akin to title insurance for real property. Typically, purchasers of a co-op obtain a lien search to determine ...
Continue reading "Title Insurance for Cooperatives, Eagle 9, New York" »
Posted on Aug 19, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
Obviously, closing costs are a major concern of purchasers of real estate. Sellers also need to be aware of what costs they will incur upon the sale of their premises. The typical seller’s ...
Continue reading "Seller's Closing Costs" »
Posted on Aug 9, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
Both tenants and landlords should be aware of the thirty day notice rule in Nassau and Suffolk Counties with respect to holdover proceedings. This is the type of proceeding that is necessary ...
Continue reading "Landlord Tenant Law, Long Island, NY" »
Posted on Aug 8, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
A Lease with Option to Purchase is a Lease that contains a method for the tenant to elect to purchase the property on or before a certain time period. There are usually payments, in addition to rent, ...
Continue reading "Lease with Option to Purchase, NY" »
Posted on Aug 7, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
I see many Powers of Attorney done by people without legal advice, and they are not properly signed and initialled to be valid. The most notable mistake is that a checkmark is placed next to the ...
Continue reading "Power of Attorney, New York" »
Posted on Aug 6, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
Lately, I’ve been asked a lot of questions regarding the Basic and Senior Enhanced Star Property Tax exemptions in New York State. In order to receive the exemption, you must own and reside in ...
Continue reading "STAR Property Tax Reduction in New York" »
Posted on Jul 31, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
There are three types of broker arrangements – seller’s agent, buyer’s agent, and dual representation. By far the most frequent situation is that the broker is acting as a selling ...
Continue reading "Real Estate Broker's Agreements" »
Posted on Jul 30, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
A will allows you to decide who will get your money and property upon your death; otherwise, New York State directs which relatives will inherit under what is called “intestate ...
Continue reading "The Importance of Having a Will" »
Posted on Jul 28, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
This is a tax device utilized by investors who do not reside at the property, but rent it out for profit. There are many rules associated with like kind exchanges, but the basic idea behind it is that ...
Continue reading "1031 Like Kind Exchanges" »
Posted on Jul 27, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
In New York, the document necessary to appoint someone to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated is a Health Care Proxy. A Living Will is a companion document that ...
Continue reading "Health Care Proxies and Living Wills in New York" »
Posted on Jul 26, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
Closing costs can add up quickly at a closing, and include title insurance, attorney’s fees, bank attorney’s fees, title searches, survey costs, discount points, processing fees, mortgage ...
Continue reading "Buyer Closing Costs" »
Posted on Jul 23, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
I’ve lived in Baldwin, New York most of my life (in two different houses on the same street), so, of course, I was happy to hear about Baldwin being named the 25th best place to live for 2007 by ...
Continue reading "Baldwin, New York, Money Names 25th Best Place to Live" »
Posted on Jul 7, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
We’ve all heard the horror stories about a poor widow being unable to afford her mortgage, and the mortgage goes into foreclosure. Then, someone comes along promising to “save” her ...
Continue reading "HOME EQUITY THEFT PROTECTION ACT (HETPA)" »
Posted on Jul 6, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
New York Public Health Law 4201 effective 8/2/06 sets forth the order of priority of persons who are able to dispose of the remains of a decedent. Prior to this law it was basically entrusted to the ...
Continue reading "Disposition of Remains, Responsibility Therefor" »
Posted on Jun 8, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
There is a proper way to “abandon” a buried oil tank, and a seller should have a certificate from the licensed company who took care of the job. I was advised by someone at an ...
Continue reading "Buried Oil Tanks" »
Posted on Jan 13, 2007 By Cynthia Burke
Tenants in Common Real estate owned by one or more persons as tenants in common give a percentage ownership to each person, and upon that owner’s death, their percentage share goes to their ...
Continue reading "Joint Ownership of Real Property in New York" »