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Letters going out to those with taxes owing on properties

Petitions and notices are going out beginning today to those who haven’t paid taxes on their properties.

It’s the start to the tax foreclosure process for the Chautauqua County Real Property Tax Office. Those who have delinquent taxes owing will have a 90-day period to get them paid. If they don’t foot the money to pay the taxes they owe, they’re in a position to potentially lose their property.

Under county foreclosure policy, any tax bill that wasn’t paid two years ago will appear on the delinquency tax list to go to foreclosure. Jim Caflisch, real property tax director, said there are deadlines for people to be aware of.

“People will have 90 days from today until April 17 to pay the delinquent amount owing. If they don’t pay it before April 17, we will seek a judgment of foreclosure. That usually takes about 10 days,” said Caflisch. “After that, we will send what we call a reacquisition letter. It’s one more chance for people to try to get their property back.”

At that point when they receive the reacquisition letter, Caflisch said a third year of tax will be added to the bill, making it more difficult for people to retrieve their properties back. Caflisch said people will have six weeks after they receive the notice from the county to reacquire their property. The reacquisition period typically begins in May and ends in June.

Around 1,200 parcels are currently in the foreclosure action, which is around the typical number seen to begin the year. There are an estimated 95,000 properties in the county.

By the time the tax foreclosure auction comes around in June, there’s typically 200-250 properties on the list. Last year, more than 200 parcels in Chautauqua County went to the auction. Many of those properties were located in the cities of Jamestown and Dunkirk, ranging from residential vacant land to single- and three-family residences.

Properties that went unsold during the June 2016 county foreclosure auction are listed on the Chautauqua County Real Property Tax Office’s website. Those who place offers for the properties are subject to certain terms and conditions along with confirmation by the County Legislature.

Every year, foreclosure plagues young and old homeowners in the state. One of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plans for 2017 includes closing the consumer protection loophole and reviewing and revising any regulations dealing with reverse mortgages to protect senior homeowners.

Many New Yorkers over the age of 62 utilize lending products known as reverse mortgages. The governor said they often get misled by advertisements and choose reverse mortgages for an additional income without understanding that payments are still required for all taxes, insurance and home maintenance.

As a result, the deceptive practice puts senior citizens into foreclosure because of a missed tax or insurance payment. Under current law, homeowners with a reverse mortgage aren’t provided consumer protections like settlement conferences that are available when New Yorkers face foreclosure. The governor is looking to change that by including reverse mortgages within state law.

“Exploitation of seniors is a particularly heartless and heinous crime and this administration is committed to doing everything in its power to stop this abuse and ensure these New Yorkers receive the protections they deserve,” Cuomo said.

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