Addabbo, Miller and Crowley Offer to Help District Property Owners
Queens, NY – New York State Senator Joe Addabbo is co-sponsoring a free Tax Lien Assistance Outreach Event, along with New York State Assembly Member Mike Miller and New York City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley.
Constituents whose tax liens are on the list to be sold and who are struggling with tax lien issues are urged to go to P.S. 91, 68-10 Central Avenue, Glendale (entrance on 68th Place), on March 8, from 5 to 7 PM. All are welcome.
Representatives from the New York City Environmental Protection (DEP), New York City Finance (DOF) and New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) will be there to assist residents.
There will also be information on Senior Citizens Homeowners Exemption (SCHE) which might entitle them to a 50% reduction in their property taxes (deadline for SCHE is March 15).
Call Senator Addabbo’s Howard Beach district office at 718-738-1111 or Council Member Elizabeth Crowley’s Middle Village office at 718-366-3900 to RSVP.
“Assembly Member Miller’s and Council Member Crowley’s offices are sending out invitations to this free session in Glendale to those constituents whose tax liens are in danger of being sold. I strongly urge them to come to our outreach event in order to obtain the help they need to avoid the sale, which can have serious consequences in the future,” urged Senator Addabbo.
A tax lien sale is the transfer of the lien to a single authorized buyer who hires a collection agency. It is not a sale of the property, but if the taxes and/or charges are not paid or resolved, the lien holder can begin a foreclosure proceeding in court.
A representative from the New York City Department of Finance will be available at the March 8 session to meet one-on-one with homeowners with tax liens to help them avoid the lien sale by discussing eligibility for exemptions from the sale or ways of resolving the lien.
In order to prevent the sale of a lien on property, the debt must be resolved by May 17, 2012 through one of the following methods: pay your outstanding debt in full; enter into a payment agreement; apply to receive an exemption that will exclude the property from the lien sale; dispute the charges by filing a formal dispute with DEP or Finance.
A tax lien usually involves real estate, although it can also involve other forms of personal property. A lien is placed on the property when the owner fails to pay, or is delinquent in paying, certain taxes.
Less common are tax liens that involve other fees owed to a government agency. In most situations, however, tax liens are issued because a tax lien servicer is not paid.
Residents of Senator Addabbo’s district who have been sent a legal claim against their property for unpaid taxes, or whose property was on a published lien sale list, are encouraged to attend this outreach session to obtain advice and to take the necessary steps to prevent the sale of their lien.
The Finance representative will provide assistance in developing payment agreements, resolving billing disputes and helping complete exemptions applications for those who qualify.
Property owners must bring their water/sewer bills, property taxes and Department of Housing Preservation and Development loan paperwork.
In one-on-one sessions, the City will have representatives on hand to offer customer service and will be able to check your eligibility for billing programs, including their Water Debt Assistance Program and provide help with setting up payment plans.
The Department of Environmental Protection will provide customer service regarding payment of water and sewer bills, water conservation education and water assistance program; the Department of Finance will cover will cover its exemption programs (if you have a water lien on a property, New York City Finance may be eligible to sell lien to private debt collector); the Department of Housing Preservation and Development will provide assistance in preventing foreclosures and predatory lending and assist with securing low-interest loans.
When a tax lien does involve real estate and the property does exchange hands, this obligation of repayment is said to "run with the land." That means the new property owner is now responsible for repayment of taxes owed even if the non-payment occurred because of a prior owner. This is one of the reasons a title search and title insurance is so important to new homeowners.
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