Erie County, NY- County Clerk Chris Jacobs and County Executive Mark Poloncarz want to caution all Erie County property owners to watch for misleading solicitations offering to sell you a "Certified Copy of Your Deed". The company issuing such notices is titled New York Record Retrieval, Inc., and is dramatically overcharging homeowners for this service by as much as 1000%.

“I want to inform the citizens of Erie County that the entities marketing such requests are not at all related to the County Clerk’s Office or any other department inside Erie County government,” said Clerk Jacobs. “If you receive one of these letters, you should disregard it. A certified copy of your deed is always available from the County Clerk’s Office.”

Senator Mark Grisanti (R, I-60) announced passage of Senate bill S. 1710 which would provide green development home tax exemptions. Grisanti’s bill would allow a tax exemption of 35 percent for real property for a period of no longer than 20 years if authorized by the local municipality.

According to Senator Grisanti, the legislation will help to incentivize builders to invest in green homes, which are typically more expensive to build.

Says Mortgage Tax Collections up 16.8% Over Same Period Last Year

Erie County, NY-Erie County Clerk Chris Jacobs announced his office will soon distribute to local governments throughout the County their share of the Erie County Mortgage Tax collections based off of real estate transactions recorded in the Clerk’s Office.  The total to be distributed on May 15th is $7,896,969.86 and covers the six month period October 1, 2012-March 31, 2013.  This amount is 16.8% higher than the same period last year.

“Record low interest rates have fueled both refinancing and home purchases throughout Western New York.  This is a positive development for Erie County’s municipal governments since mortgage tax distributions are a major source of revenue for many of the County’s cities, towns and villages,” stated County Clerk Jacobs.