Since it is a second home, pied-à-terre owners are not entitled to a reduction in property tax. And New York state lawmakers are still considering an additional tax on second homes called a pied-à-terre tax. It's not included in the 2021-2022 budget, but a bill has proposed that condominiums or cooperatives with an estimated value of $ 300,000 or more at a graduated rate between 10 percent and 13.5 percent on the excess appraisal of over $ 300,000 (excluding tax) taxed will be levied on the amount less than $ 300,000.)
"The Senate draft contains a number of exceptions and there is no certainty that such a law will ever be passed," said Wagner. “But it would mean that if the estimated value of a condo or cooperative is $ 400,000, for example, and the apartment is worth more than $ 5 million, the annual tax will be no less than $ 10,000 and no more Would be $ 13,500. ”
For some, an existence with one foot in the city, one foot in the country was already in sight; the pandemic just put it on the fast lane. "My son is a sophomore college student and we've just gotten used to being empty nests," said Ms. Blair. "Covid speeded up something I would have done anyway and that made a lot of sense."
Aashish Chandarana, a technology executive, moved from London to New York in 2012 and settled in a rented apartment in the West Village. He loved the city, but he also loved getting out of town. Four and a half years ago he bought a 1,200-square-foot cottage in East Hampton; He spent the pandemic there after terminating the lease for his apartment.
"Covid has changed the way I think about the city," said Chandarana, 44, who became chief information officer at Productiv, a technology start-up, in January, a job he had to spend in the city for some part of the week.
"I realized that a pied-à-terre was exactly what I was looking for," said Mr. Chandarana, who opted for a two-bedroom apartment in his old downtown neighborhood; it is a 10-minute walk to the office. “Would I have come to this conclusion regardless of the pandemic? I think it would have taken time, but I would have. Nevertheless, a complete farewell was never an option. "
Fear of missing out is a powerful motivator. "Even people who have the flexibility to work completely remotely find that they miss the city and what it has to offer," said Rob Jackson, Corcoran Group's sales representative who worked with Ms. Blair and Mr. Turk. "It's not that they have to be in Manhattan, they want to be in Manhattan at least temporarily."
