Tax breaks and the creation of low income housing

BY PHILIP A. RAICES

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s concept and ideas of creating 800,000 units of housing over 10 years had tremendous and valuable merit.

However, in my professional opinion as a broker, her plan fell short based on the way, methods, and approach she considered taking.

Usurping and overruling local zoning laws would have created the necessary and required housing, but would have potentially caused overcrowding, depleted and pollutied our precious and fragile water supplies from our aquifers on Long Island, and increased air pollution from more cars on our roads and highways.

Was there time spent analyzing the alternatives of adding those 800,000 housing units? Did anyone consider all the empty, underutilized buildings throughout New York State?

Construction on vacant land to build “green, low carbon footprint,” self-sustaining rental units, as well as developments, would be a more logical and pragmatic approach to our housing shortage.

Has anyone researched building homes, condos, and co-ops using 3-D Printing technology? This could also reduce the costs and speed at which the final product would be available. In 2021, Kirk Andersen from SQ4D Inc. “printed the exterior and interior walls and finished the first 3-D printed home in the U.S. in Riverhead in Suffolk County for $300,000.

When observing the process, this was no ordinary concrete but a kind extruded by a huge robot 3D printer and completed in less than 48 hours of print time.

That was considerably faster than the regular way of pouring concrete for construction.

The robot printer built 41% of the home and then the normal contractors finished the home with whatever options and customizations that purchasers wanted.

This is absolutely a game changer in lowering the costs of creating and constructing homes and developments. There is quite a lot of land north of New York City and within the five boroughs to utilize this type of technology.

More important, the reservoirs upstate could support greater construction in and around New York State as they are generally replenished with fresh, unpolluted rainfall.

The state and federal government should and could offer low-cost financing and/or tax credits for developers and pass a discount down to tenants as well as provide grants for first-time home purchasers who stay in the home a minimum of 10 years — similar to what is required on Long Island when a family receives a grant for their home.

Foreclosures could also add to the supply by making it easier for a family to purchase, instead of an investor like myself, by allowing a full inspection in order for grant money piggy-backed

Everyday Cheapskate

Continued from page 2 even though banks do not report account activity to the credit reporting agencies.

3. Apply for credit while you’re in college. Card companies mostly waive their typical qualifications for college students, which makes it easy to qualify for a credit card.

4. Get a secured credit card. If you can’t qualify for a traditional credit card, apply for a secured account. You will have to deposit money with the lender, which will be held in a savings account. Find a list of available secured cards at indexcreditcards.com.

5. Piggyback on another’s good credit. If a family member, like a parent, is willing, have that person add you as an authorized user on his or her credit card. Doing this will have that person’s credit activity on that one card placed on your credit report.

6. Pay your bills on time -- all of them, even those that do not report to credit bu- reaus.

7. Respect the 30% threshold. Don’t charge up your card close to the limit at any time during the billing cycle, even if you pay the balance in full each month. Keep your use below 30% of your available credit at all times. Crossing that will cause your credit score to drop like a stone!

Mary invites you to visit her at EverydayCheapskate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services. Mary invites questions and comments at https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/contact/, “Ask Mary.” This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate.com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book “DebtProof Living.”

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM w/a mortgage to be issued. This is impossible under the current way that foreclosed homes are always winterized.

I had previously sent an email to ex-Congressman Tom Suozzi as to how to solve that issue, but never received a response.

My idea was if a purchaser wants to buy a foreclosure and it is winterized, they put up an agreed amount — let’s say, $350-$500 — and then the electric, boiler, and water are put back in service.

This will allow a full inspection to be completed. Then immediately after, the home can be winterized once again. This will then allow a written mortgage commitment and grant money (currently up to $39,000) to be authorized and issued.

Once this is facilitated, then the closing can be scheduled and finalized. Lastly, even if the buyer changes his/ her mind, the money has already been spent to safeguard all the utilities from winter damage.

Moreover, when temperatures are in the 40s consistently, between May through November, why would there be a need to winterize a home, unless in a location where temperatures are generally in the freezing zones?

This will allow more families and individuals to become homeowners and build roots within the community as opposed to us investors truly build- ing nothing but our bank accounts. This is a solution that should be considered and adopted into law to the benefit of all consumers looking to build their long-term wealth. Politicians, are you listening??

Lastly, my hats off to both the Democrats and Republicans in finally coming to an agreement with a twoyear plan to deal with and extend the debt ceiling. Now it’s up to Congress to approve the agreement.

Did you get your tickets to the American Cancer Society Event @ Governor’s Comedy Club 90 Division Ave Levittown: Thursday, June 1. Doors and Bar open at 6:30 PM. Show starts at 8 PM. Only 25 tickets left. Call Phil (516) 647-4289)

Philip A. Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 in Great Neck. He has 40 years of experience in the Real Estate industry and has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (G.R.I.) and also as a Certified International Property Specialist (C.I.P.S) as well as the new “Green Industry” Certification for eco-friendly construction and upgrades. For a “FREE” 15-minute consultation, value analysis of your home, or to answer any of your questions or concerns he can be reached by cell: (516) 647-4289 or by email: Phil@ TurnKeyRealEstate.Com or via https:// WWW.Li-RealEstate.Com

BY DENNIS MAMMANA

Week of June 11-17, 2023

Early morning sky watchers may notice a new star in their sky. OK, it’s not really a “new” star, but it hasn’t been easily visible for nearly a year.

Its name is Mira, and it’s what astronomers know as a long-period variable star. It regularly pulsates in brightness, becoming easily visible in the sky, then fading well below naked-eye visibility.

The star was found over four centuries ago by German astronomer David Fabricius, who had been searching for the planet Mercury. Instead, he found this peculiar star that appeared nowhere in his catalogs, atlases or globes.

A few months later he looked again for the star, but couldn’t find it. Then, on Feb. 16, 1609, there it was again.

Not until 1660 did astronomers realize what was happening. The star had been there all along but changed its brightness over 11 months. Mira, also known as Omicron Ceti, became the first star ever discovered to change its brightness.

They named it “Mira,” which contains the Latin root for such words as “miracle,” and means “wonderful.” Its discovery was rather wonderful, too, since it supported the contention of Nicolaus Copernicus a few decades earlier that the heavens were not unchangeable. No wonder it soon became known