3 ms·

I think they should be allowed to buy the homes, but then face stiff property taxes (with a homestead exemption for actual residents). The property taxes on Bil

• tezza 10y ago
  They will pay pensioners to live there 'on paper' to meet your homestead requirement. The whole tax penalty is thwarted that way
  • notfromhere 10y ago
    At least they'll be occupied that way. Maybe they can even have whole families move in there, with some sort of agreement that they receive a monthly payment in exchange.
  • msh 10y ago
    If you realitet the oner to live there and pay property taxes is quite risky to use a straw man.
  • slavik81 10y ago
    Right now I'm paying rent like a sucker when I could be paid to live here instead? Sounds good to me.
• bradleyjg 10y ago
  Happily the 421-a exemption program referenced in that article was allowed to expire. Not because of a consensus that it was a bad idea (which it was) but because of a pissing match between the governor and the mayor. We have to take our victories where we can get them; hopefully they'll continue fighting forever. We still have structural problems in the city property tax code -- for example condo and co-op buildings have to be taxed as if they were rental buildings, a complex calculation that generally undervalues them. But if and when those are fixed, I think full property taxes are would be enough. I don't see the need for a punitive rate on top of that. At least not in NYC, other cities may have a bigger problem with absentee owners.