Two weeks ago, NYSLTA Members received an email alert to an important change in the exemption to the IDA mortgage tax.  Here is the alert we distributed on November 10, 2016.  Note - there has been some confusion about this change. We believe the information posted below to be complete and accurate.

A bill was passed by the State legislature and signed by Governor Cuomo.

This  bill currently in effect:

"prohibits Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) from exempting the additional mortgage recording tax  imposed  on  properties located  within  the  Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, the Niagara Frontier Transportation District, the  Rochester-Genesee  Transportation  District,  the  Capital District Transportation District, and the Central New York Regional Transportation District".

Attached is a link to Technical Memorandum, TSB-M-16(1)R, Industrial Development Agencies and Authorities in Transportation Districts No Longer Exempt from the Additional Mortgage Recording Tax. 

The bill was signed into law on September 30, 2016, and, as drafted, has an immediate effective date.    The approval memo signed by Governor Cuomo indicated that to allow for the completion of several projects, the governor and the Legislature agreed to a chapter amendment extending the effective date until July 1, 2017.   

However, until this chapter amendment is enacted, mortgages executed, given, made, transferred, or assigned by or to an IDA, an agent of the IDA, or an entity receiving financial assistance from an IDA are not exempt from the additional mortgage recording tax imposed by Tax Law section 253(2) when the real property that is subject to the mortgage is located in a county that is part of a transportation district.

https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/memos/mortgage/m16_1r.pdf 

If you have a DFS title agent license or if you work for an underwriter corporation in NY state - the proposed DFS cybersecurity regulation impacts YOU. 

NYSLTA Members can read the proposed regulation and see a "plain English" explainer on the Technology Committee page, on this web site.

In the coming months, you will see more information about cyber security on this site and in our email blasts.

Here is an article from FORBES magazine that everyone should find helpful.

The Land Records Committee meeting with the NYC Register scheduled for September 29 has been cancelled.

We submitted a very brief agenda and the Register responded to all the agenda items in writing.

Our questions and the response from Ms. Hill's Office follows:

Answers to the LTA Questions

1.       Can the City find a way to inform the industry prior to the implementation of a changed or new procedure or rule?

We did not change the procedure. You were always required to put the declarant/sponsor on the cover page as the first party. We recently observed that the wrong party was entered on the cover page, and informed the examiners of the proper procedure.

2.       More scanners are being equipped with the ability to scan in color- the numbers will increase as the leases on older copier/scanners end and new leases are signed.  We have seen almost all copies scanned in color with blue ink signatures be rejected.  The reason given is _ “not legible.” A check of the rejected items shows blue ink signatures are legible. Is “do not scan in color” a rule? Will color scanned documents be rejected automatically or evaluated legibility.

We will accept color scans as long as they are legible. However, if you notice the signatures are light try to darken them before scanning to ensure that when we receive the image is legible.

3. Please clarify new UCC rule, especially with regards to erroneous rejections.

If your UCC gets rejected you are required to submit payment each time you resubmit. The Law states UCC processing fees are not refundable pursuant to Executive Law 96-A.

4.  Update/timetable on register’s consolidation of offices in Queens for purposes of searching.

We are in Phase I of this project. Currently they are working on rebuilding the second, third floors, and the basement. We do not have exact dates of all of the phases of the project. We will keep you informed as the project moves forward, and we will let you know if anything comes up that may affect how you will search.

5. Please explain why out of state acknowledgments are rejected upon submission, but accepted upon resubmission.

They should not be rejected. We apologize for this.  It is a training issue, and we are working on correcting this problem.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing changes to the "Know Before You Owe Mortgage Rule", formerly known as TRID.

There is a public comment period, which ends in October.

Click here to read the announcement on the CFPB site.

Click here to read the proposed rule changes. 

At NYSLTA, we use Kaspersky products for digital security. There are other fine and reliable solutions.

The following is from a Kaspersky marketing email but it provides a simple introduction to ransomware.

The recipe is simple BACKUP YOUR FILES + SECURITY INSTALLED ON ALL YOUR DEVICES. Since many breeches are "social hacking", I and Regina use personal identity theft protection and restoration insurance.

https://usblog.kaspersky.com/ransomware-study-2016/7186/

How educated are we on ransomware?
May 24, 2016 Jeffrey Esposito

Unlike previous malware trends that have varying purposes, ransomware’s is quite simple: Get Money. With a goal like that spurring on malicious developers, it’s no wonder ransomware’s star is on the rise.

If you’re not entirely sure what ransomware is, you’re not alone — and that’s unfortunate. With ransomware a growing concern, and high-profile attacks on critical organizations including hospitals, schools, and police departments, Kaspersky Lab recently commissioned research firm Opinion Matters to survey more than 5,000 consumers in the United States and Canada to gauge the overall awareness of and concern about ransomware.

The results indicate that consumers are unconcerned about ransomware — perhaps because they are unaware of ransomware’s reach and effects.

Why ransomware matters
Briefly, ransomware is a type of malware. Its twist is using encryption to hold victims’ files — or access to their computers or mobile devices — hostage and demanding money in exchange for their safe return.

Ransomware isn’t new, but ransomware infections have been growing at an alarming rate recently. For example, in the first quarter of 2016, Kaspersky Lab’s software blocked crypto-ransomware attacks on 34,900 devices and detected more than 2,800 mobile ransomware Trojans.


Last year, Kaspersky Lab predicted that 2016 will see ransomware spread to new frontiers such as the Internet-of-Things — Internet-connected devices and appliances over which users have little technological control. Ransomware’s direct monetization model is very appealing to cybercriminals, and its consumer model is savvy in demanding relatively little money from each victim.

Our survey says…
Of the surveyed consumers, 43% did not know what ransomware was, and 9% believed it had something to do with social media accounts being held for ransom.

More troubling, consumers don’t know what to do in the event of an attack. A quarter of respondents believed that disconnecting the affected computer from the Internet could stop the attack. And a still-significant percentage — 15% of Americans and 17% of Canadians — would resort to unplugging the computer or turning off the mobile device, thinking that might work (spoiler alert: it does not work).

More concerning,15% of Americans and 17% of Canadians think unplugging the computer or turning off the mobile device could completely stop ransomware
Most users (53%), considering the risk of losing their photos and videos, say they would not be willing to pay ransom. Those willing to pay said they would pay only a small amount of money to recover their personal digital files.

Of the respondents, 26% of Americans and 24% of Canadians said they would be willing to give up social media permanently to guarantee the future protection of their personal digital files.

Most Internet security software, like Kaspersky Internet Security, will protect users against many forms of ransomware. However, 11% of U.S. respondents and 12% of Canadian respondents noted they don’t have a security product installed on any of their personal digital devices.

Education needed
As ransomware attacks increase, consumers need not just to be aware of the problem — they also need to know how to avoid ransomware attacks and what to do if they’re hit by one.

In response to a ransomware attack, 46% of respondents wouldn’t know what steps to take should they become infected. The findings also indicated that the percentage of respondents who would not know what steps to take grew with increasing age, from 37% of those aged 16-34 to 54% of those aged 55+.

To pay, or not to pay
Nearly one-quarter (24%) said that paying the ransom could halt the cybercriminals, and more than half (53%) of respondents would not be willing to pay.

Those who would pay would be willing to part with, on average, only a small amount to recover their personal digital files — less than the average consumer pays monthly for lunch.

At Kaspersky Lab, we do not advise payment to criminals in response to ransomware. Instead we suggest backing up files regularly and securing devices with strong security solutions.

Looking ahead
A lack of comprehension around ransomware shows how vulnerable consumers are to this rapidly developing form of cybercrime. As long as people are willing to click on attachments in emails or visit suspicious websites to see the latest viral video, cybercriminals will continue to prey on them using ransomware.

One promising survey finding is that those surveyed are using Internet security on their devices. More than three-fourths (77%) of respondents who have a computer (PC or Mac) have Internet security installed on it, 47% have it on their smartphone, and 31% have it on their tablet.

In addition, consumers are regularly backing up their files. Almost all (84%) of survey participants said they back up their digital files.

Although many people have the right idea about not paying the attacker, and many back up their digital files, being informed is one of the best defenses against ransomware.