Hamptons – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Visiting New York City

David Posnett — Sun, 03 May 2020 03:13:07 +0000

I have not been in the city since late February 2020. Much has changed. It is now a ghost town. Nobody rides the subway and there are no cabs. On the bright side, there are plenty of parking spaces and little traffic.

A walk down East 86th street was depressing. Over 3-4 blocks, there were numerous store closures, some temporary and others for good. There was retail space for rent or lease. There was a plea for donations via a Go-Fund-Me website from a restaurant called “Little Frog” addressed to it’s loyal customers. Here are pictures taken on the evening of May 1st:

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You have to ask how long it will take to recover? How many stores will go under? What will happen to real estate prices? What will happen to jobs?

The city is definitely schizophrenic. Less than 24 hours later on a beautiful spring Saturday, everyone it seems was out in Central Park. Not much social distancing here. With or without masks, there were picnics, frisbees, pick up basketball, and couples kissing! Cyclists and joggers crowded the Central Park loop road. Your usual spring weekend in the park. There were so many people that 2 of them actually bumped into me by accident! I have a sneaky feeling that the Coronavirus will be happy to spread again. And I wonder how many of these folks will visit the beaches in the Hamptons on a hot summer weekend.

Gaming the Tax Plan in the Hamptons

David Posnett — Fri, 10 Nov 2017 20:47:23 +0000

I guess this should be expected. Even if you are not a 2nd home owner out here on the East End, the value of your home could decrease! Thanks Mr. Trump & Mr. Zeldin!

Hamptons Homebuyers Have Already Figured Out How to Game the Tax Plan

By Rob Urbanand, Prashant Gopal

November 10, 2017, 8:06 AM EST

Brokers see tax change adding to rentals in getaway spots
House bill kills vacation-home deduction, Senate to keep it

Westhampton Beach, Photographer: Walter Bibikow/AWL Images RM

Out in the Hamptons, Wall Street’s favored beach resort on Long Island, brokers and buyers already have a workaround for a tax-plan provision under consideration in Congress that would take away the mortgage-interest deduction for second homes.

A client of Brown Harris Stevens broker Jessica von Hagn who works at a hedge fund decided to turn the vacation home he’s buying into an investment property by setting up a limited liability company. That will allow him to deduct the interest and earn rental income at the height of the season from the modern home on Bridgehampton’s Lumber Lane, with four bedrooms, three baths and a swimming pool on an acre of land.

For the buyer: problem solved. For the Hamptons market: more high-end vacation properties getting listed as rentals, more competition and, most likely, falling rents.

“If you aren’t able to take advantage of the mortgage deduction for your second home, you’ll see more people putting their homes on the market and the inventory will grow,” von Hagn said. “There’s only a certain number of renters every season and we just keep adding more and more inventory.”

In second-home markets across the U.S., from Cape Cod in Massachusetts to Lake Tahoe, California, brokers are bracing for a hit. …

Should the final bill eliminate the tax deduction for vacation properties, the workaround — acquiring the home as an investment property — changes the nature of the purchase for buyers, turning their vacation home into a business….

If markets are flooded with properties for lease, rents will fall and so will values for those homes, she said.

The main focus of the tax debate on real estate has so far centered on mortgage-interest deductions for primary residences. The Senate version of the plan would preserve the existing write-off for up to $1 million of debt, while the House would reduce it for new purchases to $500,000 of debt.

Pressing Congressman Zeldin

David Posnett — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 18:18:19 +0000

Nice going, Bob Brody and Betty Mazur, who represented East Hampton residents as protesters at the demonstration in Riverhead on Tuesday Jan 3rd. Here is the full story in the East Hampton Star as reported by Chris Walsh.

Bob was rightly concerned that one can not repeal Obamacare and preserve coverage for kids until they are 26 years old under their parent’s policy, as well as the rule that forbids insurances from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, etc. The math just doesn’t work. So far the insurance companies benefited from a) government subsidies for Obamacare policies, and b) government pressure on individuals and businesses to increase the pool of insurance premiums. Imagine up to 20-30 million insurance policies disappearing with full repeal: either insurance companies will go broke, or premiums will skyrocket, or deductibles will be huge, or the lifetime caps on benefits will return…

We all should be concerned!

Signing up for ACA (Obamacare) before March 31st!

David Posnett — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 04:41:12 +0000

If you are in the East Hampton, NY, area, you can walk in to the East Hampton Health Care Foundation at 200 Pantigo Place this Friday March 21st. Professional insurance enrollers will help you sign up on line. They do this every day and they are experts. They are fluent in Spanish and English. For more info see my prior posts. There is also a post on your costs for ACA medical insurance.

Tears for Liz

David Posnett — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 04:30:40 +0000

My friend Liz was an intense supporter of the ACA. There was a good reason. She had her health insurance canceled back in 2005 when she was stricken with a nasty cancer. Chemotherapy nearly bankrupted her. But she survived. She became a cancer survivor and started a national support group for patients like herself, a group counting a membership of over 5000. She was very well informed and attended medical conferences to keep up with the latest advances.

However, she still had no medical insurance. So a few weeks ago she signed up on-line for the ACA and she was waiting for her insurance card. She wasn’t feeling well. Fully aware of the costs, she did not want to see a specialist in NY City until her insurance card was in hand. However, on Monday she went to an emergency room because of shortness of breath. A few hours later she was dead!

Its not clear what happened. BUT it is very clear that

Health insurance is not a “joke” – in fact, lacking health insurance dissuades us from consulting a physician when we know that we should. Lacking insurance really costs lives.
Treatment for cancer and other disorders can be extremely expensive and often leads to personal bankruptcy, specially when you are uninsured.

Many people were touched by Liz and I know they are mourning. I know she would want us all to fight for the ACA (Obamacare) in her name. RIP Liz.

Confused by Obamacare ? For Suffolk County Residents, read on…

David Posnett — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 20:46:54 +0000

Confused? Not sure how it may benefit you? Not sure how much it will cost? If you are anywhere near Southampton, Riverhead or Hampton Bays, here are 3 seminars coming up: Layman’s terms. Resource guide to local enrollers.

Wed Feb 26, 2014 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Rogers Memorial Library, Morris Meeting Room, 91 Coopers Farm Rd, Southampton, NY 11968. (631) 283 0774, ext 523

Thu Mar 6, 2014 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Riverhead Free Library, 330 Court Street, Riverhead, NY 11902; call (631) 727 3228 or email contact@riverheadlibrary.com

Tues Mar 25, 2014 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Hampton Bays Public Library, 52 Ponquogue Ave., Hampton Bays, NY 11946, call (631) 728 6241 or email hbaylib2suffolk.lib.ny.us

The Costs of Obamacare Insurance to YOU.

David Posnett — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 20:30:43 +0000

I have been hearing horror stories about prohibitively expensive Obamacare insurance quotes. So together with my friend Sheila, we logged on to the NY State Official Health Plan Marketplace and pretended to be shopping for insurance right here in Suffolk County.

Note (and this is important) the cost varies depending on where you reside. The different insurance carriers have different quotes of course. And most importantly the cost varies according to your taxable income. Your premium should be reduced (advanced Tax Credit) if your taxable income is below $45,960 for a single individual, or below $94,200 for a family of four.

Here are several scenarios (all of them for a gold plan, annual deductible $600 per person, or $1200 per family) and applicable to Suffolk County residents. The quoted premiums are for the family and represent the cheapest quote. Make sure that your doctor accepts the insurance plan you choose!

Taxable Household income $75,000
2 adults no dependent children: Monthly premium for the family $877 + (depending on Plan). NO CREDITS

Taxable Household income $75,000
2 adults and 2 dependent children: Monthly premium for the family $740 + (depending on Plan). Advanced Tax Credit $137

Taxable Household income $50,000
2 adults and 2 dependent children: Monthly premium for the family $427+ (depending on Plan). Advanced Tax Credit $450

Taxable Household income $25,000
1 adult and no dependent children: Monthly premium $217 + (depending on Plan) – Advanced Tax Credit $221

Taxable Household income $14,000
1 adult and no dependent children: Monthly premium $0 – medicaid

This does not sound too bad at all.

Need help to sign up for Obamacare?

David Posnett — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:01:35 +0000

If you are anywhere near East Hampton on the Southfork this is a great place:

East Hampton Health Care Center

for appointments with an “enroller” on Mon and Fri call

Julia Fuentes 631 294 2921
Nancy Moraga Martinez 631 291 5077

for appointments with an “enroller” on Tues and Thu call

Vicki Duran 516 315 1021

All enrollers are fluent in English and Spanish. You can sign up your family within less than 1 hour. It is person to person and you don’t need to have computer skills.

Live Seminar on ACA (Obamacare) in Hamtpon Bays: Jan 14, 2014

David Posnett — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 20:22:28 +0000

If you are confused or encountering problems this might be useful: Hampton Bays Library is sponsoring a seminar on ACA this Tuesday, 1/14, At 6PM.

728-6241 for information.

Navigators in Suffolk County

David Posnett — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 18:09:26 +0000

Nassau Suffolk County Hospital Council has a nice website. They provide navigator services for those wanting to sign up for health insurance (ACA or Obamacare). Need health insurance? Click on this link, or call

631-656-9783 or 631-435-3000

You can sign up

IN-PERSON – NSHC Navigator Agency provides in-person navigators at various sites throughout the community on a daily basis. These sites are offered on a first come, first serve basis. There are no appointments. Click here for Calendar Of Dates, Times, And Locations For Enrollment.
BY APPOINTMENT – Please contact one of these Navigator Agencies:
Community Service Society of New York 1-888-614-5400
Public Health Solutions 1-646-632-5986
BY PHONE – Please call the New York State of Health customer service line at: 1-855-355-5777
ONLINE – Please go to the New York State of Health official website at:
www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov

No more excuses! SIGN UP!