The Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac liquidation and increasing cracks in the property appraisal system threaten to make life harder on Long Island. What can be done?
News of the winding down of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has crushed the share values with Fannie Mae stock nose diving to just over $3 by March 13th 2014.
Most Long Islanders may not hold these stocks, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t feel the fallout. Being buried along with these statues of the American financial system as affordable home loans with low down payments.
NewsDay reports that 44% of Long Island homeowners already can’t afford housing. Sky high property taxes are certainly a part of all this. However, rents aren’t cheap on Long Island either. Recent stats show that the number of local renters paying more than 30% of their income in rent in Nassau and Suffolk County rose by 10.9% and 14% respectively just from 2000 to 2012.
With mortgage interest rates still low for now it’s a great time to buy a home on Long Island and lock in low fixed payments for the long run, versus being held ransom at the whim of landlords.
Still, issues with the property appraisal system and Appraisal Management Companies which are driving down quality of appraisals according to industry professionals in the media could bring more problems to both homeowner and renter.
As mortgage lenders become hungrier to loan it is expected that appraisers will be pressured into fueling a new boom with higher values. This will ultimately mean higher property taxes and increased burden on those planning to stay on the island long term.
So buy now, lock in low housing payments, and keep fighting to lower your own Long Island property taxes with the help of a local property tax adjuster.