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No one showed up for a public hearing
last week on a proposed local law in the town of North Elba that
would bar converted condominiums from gaining a tax break under
state law.
Supervisor Roby Politi read the law,
which bars residential units that have been converted to condos from
gaining significant tax cuts.
“The local law provides that the town
of North Elba determines and provides that the provisions of 581
shall not apply to converted condo units,” he said. “A converted
condominium unit for purposes of this law shall mean a dwelling unit
held in condo form of ownership that had previously been on the
assessment roll as a dwelling unit in a form of ownership other the
condo form and has not previously been subjected to the provisions
Real Property Tax Law 581 or to the provisions of Real Property Tax
Law Section 339 (y) B.”
Following the hearing, Politi said
owners of residential units would still be able to convert their
property into condominiums.
“You can convert them,” he said. “But
you won’t get the tax break.”
Politi noted the local law would
provide relief to the town’s assessment roll, but in the long-term
he says the state needs to amend its Real Property Tax Law to
protect resort communities.
Currently, condos are assessed at
total income generated, not the net worth of the individual unit. So
a condo purchased for $500,000 may not be assessed at full value.
“This is a minor band-aid on the
current state law,” Politi said. “We can’t control the assessments
on brand new units, but if it’s on the roll as residential and
converted, it doesn’t get the break.”
-Chris
Morris, 3-15-10
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