Mayor Adam Releases Homeowner Handbook to Help New Yorkers Protect Their Homes

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8 Mayor Adam Releases Homeowner Handbook, Comprehensive Guide to Help New Yorkers Protect, Maintain Their Homes

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on July 27 released the “Homeowner Handbook: Protecting and Maintaining Home in NYC,” a comprehensive guide to help New Yorkers navigate the responsibilities of homeownership and access resources to protect and maintain their homes. An initiative of the Homeowner Help Desk and a partnership between the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, the Office of the New York Attorney General, and local community-based organizations, the handbook builds on Mayor Adams’ $44 million investment in expanding homeownership to help New Yorkers — particularly in lower-income communities and communities of color — build and maintain wealth. “The best way to build wealth is to own a home, and my administration is investing the money and doing the work to make the dream of homeownership a reality for more New Yorkers,” said Mayor Adams. “I will not accept a city where Black and Brown communities and renters are priced out of the chance to build wealth for their children and grandchildren. The Homeowner Handbook will provide New Yorkers with critical tools to not only own a home, but also protect it and maintain it so they can pass it onto the next generation.” “Homeownership is one of our most important tools to supporting housing stability and building generational wealth. The new Homeowner Handbook will help New Yorkers learn about the resources and programs available to maintain and stay in their homes,” said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “Our new citywide housing blueprint, ‘Housing Our Neighbors,’ prioritizes homeownership as a key step in tackling our housing shortage, and we are proud to partner with the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, Neighborhood Housing Services of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Neighborhood Services, and Brooklyn Legal Services to bring this new handbook to the community.” “New York City is placing homeownership front and center because we know it’s a proven path to building wealth, financial security, and equity for the next generation,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “The Homeowner Handbook is a tool to empower homeowners with the information they need to meet their responsibilities, keep their homes in good condition, and protect their homes if they fall on hard times. I thank the mayor for his leadership on this issue and all our partners for stepping up.” The handbook will help owners of oneto four-family homes identify public entities and homeownership programs, with information on financial assistance and resources on maintaining and keeping a home. It also includes guidance on regulations, addressing code violations, paying arrears, and complying with local laws. HPD, the Center for NYC The Homeowner Handbook builds on Mayor Adams’ commitment to supporting homeowners and first-time homebuyers, outlined in “Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness.” Over the next four years, the administration expects to support 1,200 first-time homebuyers, help 450 households with critical home repairs, and reach 4,000 homeowners through the Homeowner Help Desk. The Adams administration’s recommitment to homeownership comes amid a 20-year decline in the homeownership rate among Black New Yorkers, exacerbated by the 2008 foreclosure crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Homeowner Handbook will be a great resource for current and prospective owners,” said New York State Senator Roxanne J. Persaud. “The housing market in Brooklyn is a tough one, and many of our constituents yearn for the practical and technical tools that make asset-building and homeownership possible.”l

The cover of the Homeowner Handbook. Credit: New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development

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9 Understanding Real Estate Contracts and What You Can Expect to Find

There are a lot of things that go into the successful sale of your home, but many people are unfamiliar with the intricacies of the contract. Whether you consult with your real estate agent or plan on diving in on your own, it's important to be clear on the terms. If you're wondering what you can expect when it comes to the contract, here are some pointers on what to watch out for:

Real Estate Jargon A real estate contract would not be complete without the professional terminology, so you'll see words like amortization, price-to-income ratio and title that may impact the meaning of your contract. Instead of going it blind, search the Internet for terms or consult with your real estate agent to provide a clear explanation.

Specifics on the Sale Information regarding the specifics of your property will be present in the contract, and it's important to check this information before signing on the dotted line. While the address and location of your home are important, it's also critical to verify the purchase price that has been decided upon, the closing date on the property and any other items that have been negotiated and agreed upon.

Be Aware of Withdrawal Terms It can be easy to be taken away by excitement once you've received the perfect offer on your home, but it's important not to lose sight of everything that's required before the sale has been finalized. One of the most important parts of the contract is the withdrawal terms that are laid out, so be certain you're aware of what your rights are if you or the homebuyer decides to withdraw from the process.

Watch for Seller's Responsibilities If you, as a seller, do not remain committed to the terms of the contract this can be a deal breaker, so ensure that you've familiarized yourself with exactly what's required of you. This may include everything from the maintenance on the property to offer negotiations, so it's important to comply with these terms. Dealing with a real estate contract can be confusing for the layman, so it's worth your while to have a trusted real estate agent around who will be able to explain it. From withdrawal terms to seller responsibilities, there are plenty of things you should be aware of before sealing the deal. If you're currently embarking on selling your home, you may want to contact one of our real estate professionals for more information. Schedule an appointment today. Call 888-670-6791.l

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A Conversation with President Ali/ continued from page 1 the United States and Guyana have a unique opportunity to further build on the bilateral relationship. How can recent US announcements from last month’s Summit of the Americas address CARICOM’s food and energy challenges? What steps is Guyana taking to lead regional initiatives aimed at improving food and energy security? How can a stronger US-Guyana partnership benefit long-term development and prosperity in the Caribbean? On Monday, July 25, the Caribbean Initiative at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center hosted a public conversation with the President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, H.E. Irfaan Ali, on how he envisions the future of the US-Guyana relationship. This conversation is part of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center’s Leaders of the Americas series, which spotlights prominent leaders and provides first-hand insight into and analysis of key opportunities, recent developments, and regional trends. Melanie Chen, Founder, Caribbean Initiative and Board Member Atlantic Council began with the opening remarks: Since being elected to office in 2020, President Ali has led Guyana through an unprecedented moment in the country's history as an emerging hydrocarbon economy that is on track to grow almost 16% this year. President Ali is overseeing the rapid development of its oil and gas sector and has helped catapult Guyana into a leadership position in the Caribbean. Over the past two years, this leadership has been on display as President Ali has looked to decrease the Caribbean Community's High Food Import Bill. This includes regional initiatives such as the 25 x 25 Plan, which is aimed at decreasing CARICOM’s food Import Bill by 25% by 2025. Recognizing President Ali's role in addressing regional food challenges, he and Guyana were announced as co-Chair of the US CARICOM Joint Committee on Food Security, which is an outcome of last month's Summit of the Americas. Prior to being elected president, Ali served as Minister of Housing and Water and Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce. He also earned his doctorate from the University of the West Indies in Urban and Regional planning. With the region facing several challenges at the same time, including energy and food insecurity, climate change, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and war, your presence at the Atlantic Council is welcomed and much needed.”

Here is an excerpt of President Ali’s presentation: “Thank you very much for allowing me this opportunity to be here, to share my thoughts, but more importantly, to be in Washington and what will be an extraordinary week in the relationship of Guyana and the United States. On our first day of work, we have met with the Department of Commerce, Deputy Secretary and his team, the Secretary of State, and his team, and we have been discussing many matters of mutual interests and areas in which we can strengthen and expand our relationship. The goal of this week is to bring harmonization between the plans and the programs of Guyana and the aspirations of the U.S. both at a governmental level and the private sector level. We cannot have a partnership unless the two countries have a fulsome understanding of the development priorities, the challenges, and the opportunities and how those challenges can be mitigated and how those opportunities can be advanced. So, a lot of the discussions that we have had so far today surrounded many of the areas you spoke of climate change, food security, energy security, the debt crisis security as a whole, not only in Guyana, but in the region.

Policies and Program But importantly, how do we ensure that policies and programs and the development agenda is built on a platform that enhances and supports the full participation of all stakeholders and players. In your introduction, you spoke of Guyana as an emerging hydrocarbon market. I would like to say that while Guyana is an emerging hydrocarbon market, our economy will not be hydrocarbon based. This is a very important part of our development trajectory. Hydrocarbon will bring essential revenues, but those revenues must be utilized to expand our economy, to increase the competitiveness of our economy and open up new opportunities in new areas, areas that existed a long time ago, but we did not have the revenue to unlock the potential of these areas. Guyana has all the natural assets to be a leading food producer in the region. But food production today must be backed by appropriate technology and investment in infrastructure that will ensure the agriculture is sustainable and resilient to climate change and effects of climate change that requires capital. And this is one example of how the revenues from oil and gas can be deployed to position Guyana not only for the benefit of Guyana, but to position Guyana to contribute significantly to the food security of the region as a whole.

Prosperity of Guyana and the Region I've said this more than one time, the prosperity of Guyana must bring prosperity to the region as a whole. Guyana’s biodiversity and environmental wealth is well documented. Our forest stores 19.5 gigatons of carbon. The standing value of our forest is over $500 billion. Our forest has the potential of earning an excess of US$100 million in carbon credit in an analyzed way. This alone can drive tremendous development. The back of our forest is the opportunities that reside in the other natural resource sector. Whether it's bauxite, gold, diamond, where 36% of Guyana comprised of highly mineralized area. What that means is that we are very rich in minerals such as gold, diamond, bauxite, commercial deposits of copper. These are all areas that we can now support to be competitive with the investment necessary; whether it's the roadways, the opening up of these areas in a way that is sustainable, investing in the right technology so that we can maximize output whilst protecting the environment. Food production, as I said before, is an important part of the development trajectory of our country. But all of this, the development, the infrastructure transformation, the economic transformation of our country requires the human resource transformation.

Health and Education That is why we're investing heavily in health and education. And we're using the best who are at this. Whether it's the overhaul of the management system for health care, ensuring that we have an education system that just does not deliver academic education, but one that position our education output into areas that the future economy will require, whether it's robotics, software engineering, software development or coding. These are all areas in which we want our human resource potential to be positioned to take advantage of. Our investment portfolio goes beyond oil and gas, goes beyond agriculture, human transformation. We want to build a knowledge economy that is supported with investment in ICT, making Guyana a natural hub for ICT services. We're also building in our development incentives so that multinationals can move their regional headquarters to Guyana to support their investment, to support their position in the market in the region, Latin America, and the Caribbean. As we move forward as a country, important to the development and transformation that will take place is governance, democracy, transparency, and we're working aggressively on ensuring that our democratic credentials are embedded in a moral aspect of the development of our country we want.

Importance of Relationship with the US And that is why the relationship with the US is so critical, because we share common values on democracy and freedom, as discussed [today] in the meetings with the Secretary of State. The issues of freedom and democracy reaching out, embracing a system that ensures equality, that ensures we don't build an economy in which disparity and inequality exists and contribute to social tension, these are all critical things that we are addressing. That is why we have launched an aggressive housing program in which every single Guyanese needs family can aspire to home ownership. We have launched a program, an aggressive water treatment program, an energy program that will see the cost of electricity, the cost of energy coming down by 50%. When the cost of energy is reduced by 50%, it unlocks the potential for manufacturing, industrial development, agro-processing, bringing a natural gas to shore opens up the opportunity for the production of agrochemicals. And all of this is done not ten years from now. All of this is marked to be done in an immediate and medium term. Once we're advancing this, we are also finalizing a National Energy Master Plan.

National Energy Master Plan That Master Plan seeks to monetize the potential of our natural gas so that we can position Guyana to become a major player in terms of energy production along the Guiana Shield corridor, linking Guyana with Northern Brazil and ensuring that the infrastructural development that is required to unlock the potential in the Guyana Northern Brazil corridor can be made with the development of a deepwater harbor and the potential that comes with that in terms of transport and logistics. I know I've exceeded my time in terms of outlining, in a brief way, the trajectory, development trajectory of our country. And I've not spoken as yet about our investment in hospitality, expanding tourism, building out of infrastructure, the new bridges and highways that is already on stream, major investment in infrastructure transformation. But I want to use the remaining time here to listen to you, listen to some of your questions and address those. Thank you.”

The session continued with a Q & from moderator Jason Marczak, Senior Director, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center Atlantic Council. Mr Marczak thanked and welcomed President Ali to the Atlantic Council Studios saying: “ It's a real honor to have you here as part of our Leaders of the America Series and as you outlined as well, looking at the incredible richness of the US partnership with Guyana that extends from climate change to working together on transactional climate to issues across the Caribbean and we see the impact and influence of Guyana every day; the Guyanese Diaspora here in the United States and places like Florida and New York and even here at the Atlantic Council as well.” The discussion included the harmonization between US and Guyanese plans, both public sector and private sector, and plans to further expand on the common values shared between the US and Guyana; and what this official trip to Washington meant for the future of USGuyanese relations. l

Street of Georgetown, Guyana.Editorial credit: Kakteen / Shutterstock.com