SHARE

Star Exemption and Flood Insurance – What You Need to Know Before Year End

New York State homeowners should be aware of two important issues that may affect them before year end.

Debra Tricarico is an Associate Broker with Houlihan Lawrence Ardsley and Irvington Brokerage.

Debra Tricarico is an Associate Broker with Houlihan Lawrence Ardsley and Irvington Brokerage.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Star Exemption: The deadline is approaching for applying for the Star Exemption. New legislation requires all homeowners receiving a Basic STAR exemption to register with the Tax Department in order to receive STAR exemptions in 2014 and subsequent years. New York State requires every homeowner who receives Basic STAR to register for it by December 31, 2013. If you don't remember where you put the letter NYS sent with your code, the code lookup program is online.

Flood Insurance

The Problem: Congress provided a 5-year reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), but severe implementation problems threaten to undermine real estate transactions where flood insurance is required to obtain a mortgage.

  • New NFIP rate structures have caused serious confusion and hardship for property owners.
  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to delay and miss deadlines.
  • The legally required transition to true risk rates has plagued consumers with increases in rates beyond what anyone imagined possible.

The Solution: A four-year time-out. Congress has legislation in the House, H.R. 3370 and Senate, S. 1610, to delay changes to the NFIP.

  • The bills would prudently defer rate increases until FEMA completes the affordability study mandated by law.
  • The bills would create a system for targeted rate relief.
  • The bills would create an office of the Advocate for flood insurance rate and mapping concerns.

Please Take Action today and tell your Member of Congress and Senators that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) supports the “Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act.”

For more information on the topic form NAR click here.

For additional questions, contact Debra Tricarico at 914-469-2617 or visit her website.

to follow Daily Voice Lewisboro and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE