STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          5372
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     April 29, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to notice of sale  or
          transfer of ownership of residential property
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 291 of the real property law, as amended by chapter
     2  447 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 291. Recording of conveyances.  A conveyance of real property, with-
     4  in the state, on being duly acknowledged by  the  person  executing  the
     5  same,  or proved as required by this chapter, and such acknowledgment or
     6  proof duly certified when required by this chapter, may be  recorded  in
     7  the  office of the clerk of the county where such real property is situ-
     8  ated, and such county clerk or city registrar  where  applicable  shall,
     9  upon  the  request  of any party, on tender of the lawful fees therefor,
    10  record the same in [his] said office.   Every  such  conveyance  not  so
    11  recorded  is  void  as  against any person who subsequently purchases or
    12  acquires by exchange or contracts to purchase or  acquire  by  exchange,
    13  the same real property or any portion thereof, or acquires by assignment
    14  the  rent to accrue therefrom as provided in section two hundred ninety-
    15  four-a of [the real property law] this article, in good faith and for  a
    16  valuable  consideration, from the same vendor or assignor, his distribu-
    17  tees or devisees, and whose conveyance, contract or assignment is  first
    18  duly  recorded, and is void as against the lien upon the same real prop-
    19  erty or  any  portion  thereof  arising  from  payments  made  upon  the
    20  execution  of  or  pursuant  to  the  terms  of a contract with the same
    21  vendor, his distributees or devisees, if such contract is made  in  good
    22  faith  and  is  first duly recorded.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, any
    23  increase in the principal balance of a mortgage lien by  virtue  of  the
    24  addition  thereto of unpaid interest in accordance with the terms of the
    25  mortgage shall retain the priority of the original mortgage lien  as  so
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05315-03-9

        S. 5372                             2
     1  increased  provided  that  any  such  mortgage instrument sets forth its
     2  terms of repayment.  The clerk of the county  or  city  registrar  where
     3  such  conveyance of residential real property is recorded and maintained
     4  shall  mail  a written notice of such conveyance to the owner of record.
     5  The notice shall have the heading printed in 20 point bold type and read
     6  as follows:
     7  "NOTICE OF SALE OR TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF YOUR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.
     8  To:______________________________
     9        Name of owner of record
    10  Our records show that you are listed as the current owner of record  for
    11  residential property:
    12  Block # __________  Lot # ________
    13  Located At: ___________________________
    14                    street address
    15  in the county of __________________ New York
    16  On ____________, documents were filed at this
    17        date
    18  office to change ownership and transfer title of your property.
    19  To: ______________________________
    20            name of new owner
    21  If  you  have any questions regarding the validity of the documents, and
    22  wish to dispute the recording of the transfer, you should  obtain  legal
    23  counsel.  If  you  believe  you  are a victim of a crime related to this
    24  recording, contact your local law enforcement agency or, if in the  City
    25  of New York, the office of the sheriff."
    26  The  party seeking to record such conveyance shall bear the cost of such
    27  written notice.  The clerk of the county or city registrar  is  entitled
    28  to  charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of mailing the envelope to
    29  the owner of record.  Failure to mail such notice or the failure of  any
    30  party  to receive the same, shall not affect the validity of the convey-
    31  ance of the property.
    32    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    33  have become a law.