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Regulators backtrack from law that might have ended anonymous real estate transactions

Legal Developments, NYC, Other, Real Estate Developments, Real Estate Legality

Last month we discussed the potentially seismic change to LLC law in New York, which could have effectively ended anonymous real estate transactions, a method often favored by the high profile or foreign buyers who make up an important segment of the city’s luxury real estate market (see our October 17 blog).

However, a new guidance issued by New York state tax officials this week has allayed the concerns of buyers hoping to maintain their privacy, at least for now, by overturning the earlier guidance that had triggered fears in the real estate industry. Officials clarified that the law requiring LLCs to disclose the names and addresses of buyers will only “apply to sales of residential buildings with 1 to 4 dwellings, not the sale of individual condo units.” Although this means that certain types of larger purchases will likely be subject to the new law requiring greater transparency, the exclusion of individual condos probably resolves the concerns of most of the buyers who would have been impacted. [1]

[1] Spivack, C. (November 2019) State backtracks on law that would unmask secret NYC condo buyers from Curbed NY https://ny.curbed.com/2019/11/8/20955167/new-york-state-backtracks-secret-nyc-condo-buyers-law Accessed November 11 2019

 O’Regan, S. (November 2019) Regulators quietly change stance on condos in LLC law from The Real Deal https://therealdeal.com/2019/11/07/state-quietly-removes-mention-of-condos-in-llc-law/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NY%20Weekly%20-%2011.11.19&utm_term=New%20York%20Weekly Accessed November 11 2019

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