NY governor, Andrew Cuomo wants to buy your Long Island home and knock it down. Will you move? If not, what will happen to your property taxes?
A part of the NY governor’s plans for Hurricane Sandy aid money is to grab $400 million to put towards buying up stretches of the state’s coast.
The argument is that these homes are going to continue to get battered by severe weather year after at a huge cost to local government, and buying them out is just cheaper.
Of course there may be a lot of common sense in this, especially with the weather seemingly getting worse and worse every year and an even more active 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season anticipated to hit in a few months, but that doesn’t mean everyone is happy about it.
The plan could save a huge amount of money that would otherwise need to be spent on infrastructure to secure the area in addition to regular clean up and emergency services. Yet, surveys of residents in Nassau and Suffolk County don’t show many interested in selling out.
Some with severely storm damaged homes may certainly find this their best, if not only option for recouping losses right now. However, many others will find the price they get paid like salt in the wounds.
The governor’s plan allows for offers of 5% over pre-storm damage values and up to 10% bonuses if everyone in an area agrees to sell out. You can just imagine what type of issues that could bring.
Many won’t want to move and if they can afford not to they could perhaps see their home values soaring 60% higher in the next few years based upon what we have seen from the real estate recovery elsewhere in the country. Then there is the concern that these lands will simply be cashed in on for big bucks by others later on.
However, while this program is currently being proposed as voluntary it doesn’t have to remain that way. Eminent domain can always be used to seize properties with far smaller payouts if the government wishes, and it would have a great argument to do so.
More immediately, the real question is what happens to your property taxes if you are one of the few that remain behind?
Odds are they will go through the roof, even if public services become scarce.
What will you do if you have a choice, and how much do you think is fair to pay local homeowners for complying with the plan?