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I can’t leave additional comments to my original post, so I created a new one.
First of all, thank you, queen & Marty for your support. I started the battle from April 2019 and it was frustrating because I could find very little information and there was no support.
You guys have been so great. I can’t thank you enough.
I just heard back from the DOF. This is better than I expected. Please see below.
As requested the tax benefit breakdown sent out 12/2019 is attached. Please note in the 19/20 report it states the new shareholders NEW OWNERS’ NAME as receiving the 19/20 abatement, but this is incorrect, this abatement should be distributed to the previous shareholder MY NAME since she didn't sell the coop until 1/23/2019 which was after the 1/5/2019 taxable status date and primary residency wasn't changed to No on the 19/20 change form submitted in February 2019. Please advise management of this. Additionally for the new owners of apt XXXX to receive the CCA beginning TY 2020/21, they must be on the change form as new owners, primary residency Yes by the 2/15/2020 deadline.
Thank you for contacting the NYC Dept. of Finance,
Candice Ficalora
Property Exemptions Administration Customer Service
The property manager really screwed up!
I probably shouldn’t let the management company know about the mistake he made until 2/15 deadline lol.
As a matter of fact, I wonder if they tried to lie about the status.
The coop I sold is a studio. They have a house in NJ. Their daughter is living there.
I’m going to talk to the management company with confidence!
OG here.
So, I contacted the management company and requested to return my 2 years abatements.
Sent an email to the Controller who was CC’d on the DOF’s response to my inquiry and the Property Manager of the unit. No response. Sent a follow up email. Nothing. Sent a separate email to the Property Manager alone who has been responsive, but no answer.
I guess they decided to ignore me.
The irony is that the very samevController is commenting in the Habitat February issue mentioned below about Property tax benefits.
My next stop seems to be Small Claims court.
I really thought this would be solved smoothly after I saw the response from DOF.
I will keep you posted.
OG - Do you know the co-op's attorney? I wonder if a phone call to him might be beneficial. After all, he represents the interests of the shareholders (of which you're one), so he might be able to speak/call the mgt company and convince them to pay you the $$.
If that fails, you can always fall back on Small Claims Court.
Marty-
Thanks again for your advice. I really appreciate your time. I do have the attorney’s contact but remember I’m no longer a shareholder? He is supposed to protect the purchaser who received and will receive our abatement.
I suspect both the Controller and the Property manager consulted the attorney and decided to remain quiet. I doubt it’s their own call.
I wish they would have replied to me if they believe they did the right thing or is my belief completely out of question and not worth paying attention to?
I would still call the attorney because you have nothing to lose by doing so.
His job is to protect the shareholders of the corporation. You have a notice from the DOF that says you were legally entitled to receive those abatements as a shareholder.
His job is to limit the co-op's exposure to potential lawsuits and this is a potential lawsuit because that money is rightfully yours. It's the co-op's problem - not yours - if they erroneously paid it to the new purchaser.
Trust me, the attorney knows this. As an officer of the court he can't knowingly perpetuate a fraud, which would be the case if the purchaser gets to keep the abatements instead of you - the rightful recipient.
Everything's a negotiation. After you present the facts to him, you nicely tell him that all you want are your legally owed abatements.
You can also remind him that the co-op won't lose money because the purchaser has to repay the co-op all of the abatements they were not entitled to receive.
Tell him that the co-op just has to pay you and then recover that money from the purchaser.
See what he says and remember that 1) you have nothing to lose and 2) that money is legally yours.
Good luck.
OG,
of course they are going to ignore you and hope you go away.
If the co-op's attorney won't work with you, forget small claims court. Contact your attorney. He/she can send a letter threatening legal action as well as reimbursement of your legal expenses, lost wages and emotional distress.
Just a heads up that Habitat has published a story in the February 2020 issue explaining the different property tax benefits and how buildings and residents get them. Keeping track of who's entitled and how they get the benefit is a huge administrative task, and usually falls on management's shoulders.
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That s GREAT news! Tenacity pays off!!!
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