EIC'S RESEARCH:

EIC volunteers believe incorporation is the right choice for Edgemont, and these discussions are the results of our research and analysis. We encourage you to read our analyses of the issues, conduct your own research, contribute to the conversation, and make your own decision. See links below for Terms of Use. 

Currently, condo and co-op units are assessed at 60% of market value, while single-family homes are assessed at 100%.  Homestead provides municipalities with the legal ability to reclassify, for property assessment purposes, certain condominium units as single-family homes.  However, the EIC believes that Homestead is unlikely to be invoked by an incorporated Village of Edgemont for the following reasons:

• Homestead is intended to apply only when a town-wide reassessment results in a substantial shift of the tax burden from commercial properties (which in NY includes co-ops and condos) to single-family homes.  Greenburgh just completed such a reassessment (for the first time in 50 years), found no such shift, and therefore the Town declined to invoke Homestead. 
   
• Homestead allows municipalities the option of reclassifying only condos built after 1983.  Homestead does not apply to co-op or rental buildings.  The EIC has identified only approximately fewer than 50 condos in Edgemont (less than 2% of Edgemont’s housing) that could potentially qualify under Homestead.  The Village of Edgemont would be unlikely to invoke Homestead on such a small number of residences, as doing so would raise a negligible amount of revenue for the Village.

For these reasons, we believe that the Village of Edgemont is unlikely to invoke Homestead.