- By Marcia E. Lynch
- News
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Tompkins County and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced today a new pilot project to benefit those who buy real estate in the county.
The county and the state partnered to launch a new easy-to-use online real property transfer form. When fully implemented, the new form will save taxpayers $250,000 in state costs, and result in additional savings by municipal and county governments.
Form RP-5217-PDF will modernize the filing process for all parties involved in the sale of real estate. The new form is electronic and can be easily downloaded on any computer that has Internet access. It replaces the existing paper-only “quadruplicate” property transfer form, which users must order from the state.
The new form also eliminates redundant data entry and associated errors. Until now, identical data was entered as many as four times by local and state staff without standardized data sharing among governmental bodies.
“This pilot project reduces state and local costs for taxpayers and modernizes a part of the closing process for property sales,” said New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Thomas H. Mattox. “It is an excellent example of the results that can be achieved when state and local governments work together toward a common goal.”
Martha Robertson, Chair of the Tompkins County Legislature, said, "Tompkins County is always ready to try new ideas that can provide better service to our residents. This initiative will save time and money for all parties to a real estate sale, and we are pleased to participate in getting it off the ground."
Aurora R. Valenti, Tompkins County Clerk, said, “We are pleased that our office will be instrumental in launching the new online real estate transfer form. Not only will this new form save taxpayers upwards of a quarter of a million dollars, the redundant data entry and associated errors will be eliminated. We hope that this is only one example of what can be achieved when our state and local governments expend positive energy towards a goal to benefit all. It is particularly beneficial in reducing duplication of efforts which has heretofore existed between the Assessment Department and County Clerk's office."
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