New York
New York VA IRRRL: The Streamline, the Recording Tax and the CEMA
In New York the mortgage recording tax can make or break a VA streamline. Here is what veterans from Fort Drum to Brooklyn should ask about first.
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in New York and cannot take a New York application. We lend in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and Wyoming.
The New York tax
The line item that eats your savings
Most states make you pay recording fees and move on. New York charges a mortgage recording tax. Depending on county and loan size it runs roughly 0.75% to 1.925%, and it is higher in New York City. On a refinance that is supposed to pay for itself within 36 months, that tax can be the difference between passing and failing VA's recoupment test.
The tool New Yorkers lean on is the CEMA, short for Consolidation, Extension and Modification Agreement. A CEMA can carry your existing balance forward so the tax applies only to new money. It is the flagship New York saver. Ask every lender, on the first call, whether a CEMA fits your IRRRL. If they shrug, keep dialing.
Recoupment math
Why the tax matters for VA's 36-month rule
VA requires that your closing costs be recouped through lower monthly payments within 36 months. It also requires a net tangible benefit. Both tests look at the whole cost picture. A big recording tax pushes your break-even further out. A CEMA can pull it back in.
The rest of the IRRRL rules match everywhere else. You need an existing VA loan. You need seasoning, meaning at least 210 days from the first payment due date plus six monthly payments made, whichever is later. The funding fee is 0.5%, and it drops to zero if you receive VA disability compensation. VA usually skips the appraisal and income verification, though a lender may add overlays. And you only have to certify that you lived in the home before.
New York stacks its own protection on top. Banking Law sections 6-l and 6-m set high-cost protections below the federal trigger, with a net-tangible-benefit standard. Good. More guardrails between you and a junk loan.
At the table
Bring a lawyer. Everyone else will.
Attorney-conducted closings are the strong, near-universal custom in New York, especially downstate. Expect attorneys in the room. Closed-end refinances are wet-funded, so money moves at the closing.
On spouses, New York is easier than a lot of states. It abolished dower and curtesy, so a non-titled spouse generally does not have to sign the refinance. The homestead here is a creditor protection, not a signing requirement. Still, confirm how you hold title with the title company before closing day, because vesting is what decides it.
New York uses judicial foreclosure. And if a lender's ad quotes a rate, New York requires it be treated as subject to change, so do not try to hold anybody to a billboard.
Fort Drum to Fort Hamilton
Where New York's VA borrowers live
Fort Drum outside Watertown is home to the 10th Mountain Division. West Point trains the Army's future officers at the Military Academy. Fort Hamilton sits in Brooklyn as the Army's foothold inside the city.
That spreads VA homeowners from the Watertown area to the Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo metros, the Albany Capital District, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, and New York City itself. Home values swing wildly across that list. On an IRRRL, VA usually does not need an appraisal, so those swings matter less. What changes by location is the recording tax, which climbs in New York City. If you own downstate, the CEMA conversation is not optional.
Fair warning
We cannot write this loan in New York
Home Loans Inc is not licensed in New York. I cannot take your application. Use this page to vet New York-licensed lenders, and ask three questions. Will you use a CEMA? What is my break-even month with the recording tax and attorney fees included? Do you appraise or verify income on streamlines? A lender with clean answers to all three has earned a call back.
New York VA IRRRL questions
Can a CEMA be used on a VA streamline in New York?
Ask your lender. A CEMA carries your existing balance forward so New York's mortgage recording tax applies only to new money, and it is the main tax-saving tool in the state. Whether it fits your IRRRL depends on the lenders involved. Home Loans Inc is not licensed in New York, so raise it early with a New York-licensed lender.
How much is the New York mortgage recording tax?
Roughly 0.75% to 1.925% depending on the county and loan size, and higher in New York City. Because VA requires your costs to be recouped within 36 months, that tax can decide whether an IRRRL makes sense at all. Have the lender build it into the break-even figure.
Does my non-titled wife have to sign a New York refinance?
Generally no. New York abolished dower and curtesy, and its homestead rule is a creditor protection rather than a signing requirement. Vesting is what controls, so confirm with the title company how the property is held before you schedule the closing.
Will I need an attorney to close my IRRRL in New York?
Expect one. Attorney-conducted closings are the near-universal custom in New York, especially downstate. Closed-end refinances are wet-funded, so funds move at the closing. Ask the lender up front who will be at the table and what the attorney costs, since that counts toward recoupment.