Ramapo Town Board to Consider Law to Give 5-Year Tax Exemption for First-Time Buyers of Newly Constructed Homes

BY CAROL MCILMURRAY

The Ramapo Town Board will consider a proposed law to give a 5-year tax exemption for first-time buyers of newly constructed homes on August 27 at 7 p.m.

The new law, if adopted, would give first-time homebuyers, whose spouse didn’t purchase a home within the past three years, a 5-year tax exemption on newly constructed residential homes only. The tax exemption would give 50 percent off the property’s assessed value the first year and then 40, 30, 20, 10 percent off the following four years.

The proposed law has prompted outrage from local residents who formed an i-petition in opposition to the newly proposed law. The petition has 431 signatures of its 1000 signature goal at the time of this writing.

The i-petition states, “This type of law that is allowed by the state of New York and is a tool for municipalities to attract new development and in turn to attract new homeowners…Unincorporated Ramapo already [has] tremendous demand.”

The i-petition continues, “Ramapo does not suffer from lack of developer interest or any lack of new buyer interest in new homes in Ramapo. There is simply no justification for this new local law other than to provide a wholly unnecessary financial gift to the developers of new homes and their buyers.”

In the 95 comments, made on the i-petition, many residents express disbelief and anger over the newly proposed law.

Maureen Croce wrote, “There doesn’t seem to be an issue filling up these multi-family dwellings. Let them pay taxes and join the rest of us.”

Paul Diamond, Ramapo, said, “Long time homeowners shouldn’t be the ones holding the bag for the towns fiscal mismanagement.”

To view the i-petition go to: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Ramapo-local-law-to-exempt-new-home-buyers

The proposed law would be effective immediately after filing with the Secretary of the State.

  first-time buyer, homes, house, ramapo town board