For years, Sellers of real estate have had to provide very little information about the property they were selling, and the mantra was “buyer beware.” That may be about to change…

The Property Condition Disclosure Act of 2002 began the requirement for the Sellers to answer a series of forty-eight (48) questions about the various areas of the home and property and their condition on a document referred to as the Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS). The PCDS was to be provided to a prospective Purchaser of property at the time of signing of the contract for the purchase of the subject property. The Sellers could answer the questions on the PCDS with the following responses: Yes, No, Unknown, or N/A. If a Seller refused or chose not to provide a completed PCDS with the contract, the Act stated that the penalty was for the Seller was to provide the Purchaser with a $500.00 credit at closing for failing to provide a completed PCDS. The Act also provided a few exemptions for
parties or entities who were not required to provide a completed PCDS, with the idea that certain persons or entities may not have personal knowledge sufficient to meaningfully complete the disclosure.

In late 2023, the Property Condition Disclosure Act received a facelift. The amendment, which takes effect on March 20th, 2024, deletes the subsection which provided for a $500.00 penalty for Seller not providing a completed Property Condition Disclosure Agreement, effectively trying to make the completion of the PCDS mandatory, and adds seven (7) more questions to the PCDS, primarily
related to flood plain issues with the property and flood insurance. Again, as before, there are a limited number of exempted persons and/or entities… However, the amendment does not provide any new penalty should the Seller refuse to complete a Property Condition Disclosure Statement.

The following language remained in the amendment: “Nothing contained in this article shall be construed as limiting any existing legal cause of action or remedy at law, in statute or in equity.” However, the amendment, as in the original Act, only provides for liability for actual damages to a Purchaser from a Seller who provides a completed PCDS or fails to provide a revised PCDS. The Act, as amended, does not speak to what happens if a Seller refuses to complete and provide a Property Condition Disclosure Statement in the first place, and it is not likely that practitioners will know the answer to this question until the Courts have had an opportunity to weigh in on any litigation brought before them.

The Act also does not specifically preclude parties to a real estate contract from waiving this requirement, if agreed between the parties. Could this potentially usher in a new era of Sellers requesting a waiver from interested Purchasers of the PCDS requirement in order to get around having to provide one? We currently see a similar trend in this very competitive Seller’s market where Purchasers are waiving their right to an inspection in an effort to make their
offer stand out.

Some have offered that interested Purchasers could try to force the issue and require a completed PCDS before they would sign the contract, but in this very competitive market, it is likely that there will always be at least one interested Purchaser willing to undercut that requirement and sign a waiver. Others have offered that a Purchaser may bring an action to compel the Seller to provide a completed PCDS. However, an action to compel a completed PCDS would be costly and take time, and Purchasers may decide to rely more on an official inspection report they would order from a licensed inspector.

If the goal of the Act is to require a Seller a provide a completed PCDS at the time of contract signing, maybe a better option would be to increase the penalty credit to Purchaser rather than remove it. If, for example, Sellers were required to provide a $5,000.00 credit to Purchaser in lieu of a completed PCDS, imagine how many more PCDS’s would be completed.

As the world of real estate continues to evolve, both real estate brokers and attorneys will need to educate their clients as to the amended Act and closely watch for any new trends that emerge.

How much longer will buyers need to “beware?” Stay tuned.

Cornell’s Used Auto Parts is happy to announce they will be hosting their second annual car show. After an extremely successful show last year, Cornell’s is once again welcoming the public to come out and enjoy a fun car-filled day. The event will take place on Saturday, May 4th from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM right at Cornell’s Used Auto Parts (located at 62 S Greenfield Road, Greenfield Center, NY 12833). All makes and models are welcome to participate and people can expect food, yard tours, trophies, and most importantly, lots of cars!

Cornell’s Used Auto Parts is dedicated to providing customers with high quality parts, for a fraction of the cost compared to a dealership. Family-owned and operated, the business was first established in 1972 by Duane Cornell. Today, the business is run by Duane’s son Casey, who took over after his father’s death.

With over one million parts available for next day delivery, Cornell’s is committed to providing their customers the best possible service. All of their parts come with a standard six month warranty and there are many different extended warranties available for purchase.

The car show is returning after an unexpected popularity among the public. Originally Cornell’s General Manager, Mike Colvett, had the idea expecting that it would be a fun cookout event for the employees. However, to their surprise, hundreds of people showed up to enjoy the car show and spend time with those in their community who shared a similar interest.

This year, the car show is expected to once again bring the community together to admire and appreciate many different kinds of cars.

Additionally, people will have the opportunity to take a tour of Cornell’s lot and see what goes into running their business. All of the funds received during the event will be donated to the Double H Ranch, which provides specialized programs and year-round support for children and their families dealing with life-threatening illnesses.

Join Cornell’s and the community to support a great cause on Saturday, May 4th at 10:00 AM at Cornell’s Used Auto Parts. Whether you consider yourself an expert on all things car related, or have never been to a car show before, come out and enjoy a fun day at Cornell’s Used Auto Parts.

For more information about Cornell’s Used Auto Parts, please visit cornellsusedautoparts.com

Managing long sales cycles is one of the problems we hear about the most as marketers.

Specifically at SIX, where we work with many B2B clients who have very technical products or services. New clients often come to us frustrated by how slow their sales process is.

But the sales cycle isn’t a marketing problem, right? Traditionally speaking, no it’s not. But any marketing professional could probably tell you about a time they ran an objectively great campaign that generated leads, but no sales. And that’s frustrating for everyone involved.

It’s one of the reasons we decided, a long time ago, to expand our own services to include not only marketing, but also sales and technology consulting. We’ve found that working with our clients to improve sales cycles helps them see more success in their marketing.

1: Streamline Your Sales with the Right Technology.

There are many elements of the sales cycle that you can’t control. Maybe the leads at your target companies must go through a lengthy buying process with multiple decision-makers and compliance. Perhaps you manufacture parts that must be included in design specifications long before your customer is ready to place an order. Or maybe your customers are just incredibly indecisive… This might just be the way it is in your industry. And other than changing your industry (usually not a realistic option), there isn’t much you can do about it.

But what you can change is your approach to outreach. Using the right technology to identify, communicate with, and keep track of leads can streamline your side of the sales process and shave off valuable time. You can make your outreach more effective by using intent data to generate more refined prospect lists. This will allow your team to focus on communicating with prospects who not only meet your ideal customer profile (ICP), but are also most likely to buy.

Technology can also help you automate outreach and follow-up, document and keep track of all leads and communication, and nurture any leads stuck in the pipeline. By cleaning up your processes with technology, you can speed up your side of the sales cycle to help compensate for time-consuming processes on the prospect’s side.

2: Support your Prospect’s Decision-Making Process.

While you can’t directly control how long your prospects take to complete their buying process, you can help speed up their buying process by ensuring they have all the information necessary to make a decision.

Understanding your customers and how they make buying decisions is important. Analyzing ICPs and personae helps us understand: your audience, how they conduct research, what sources of information they trust the most, what kind of information they need to make a decision, and more. A detail-oriented person will need more in-depth content, while fast-paced decision makers might want high-level information that’s clear and concise.

It depends on your target companies, but you may need to sell a buying committee on your products or services. Buying committees involve multiple stakeholders who might have very different personalities and priorities. For example, if your buyer personae include both engineers and supply chain managers, it’s important to realize that it might take different strategies to reach them. Engineers tend to be highly skeptical buyers and need detailed information and specifications to make an informed decision. Supply chain managers will likely be less concerned with the specs, and more concerned with your ability to deliver products on time and on budget. It’s essential to have marketing materials that speak to each buyer’s needs.

What kinds of educational content you need will vary greatly depending on your product or service, industry, and buyers. Some examples include: service/product pages, spec sheets, helpful blogs, newsletters, informational guides, infographics, videos, FAQs, case studies, and testimonials. Content takes some time and effort to build out, but eventually you’ll have a strong foundation of content to support your sales team.

3: Scale Up and Refine Your Lead Generation.

Once you have better processes in place, you can increase the volume of leads in your funnel and scale up your outreach. Streamlining your sales process and marketing content will allow you to communicate with and market to more leads at a time.

The best way to generate leads depends on your industry and where your target audience is best reached. You’ll need to determine which channels (email, display ads, social media, etc.) are the most effective.

Account-based marketing (ABM) can be the best approach for companies with long sales cycles. ABM combines highly targeted and personalized outreach with advertising and other marketing support. Using the right technology, you’ll identify specific, high-value accounts that meet your ICP and send messaging to the right contacts at those companies, with content tailored directly to their needs. In addition to direct outreach, you’ll also serve highly relevant ads to your prospects and provide them with personalized educational supporting content. This lead-generation approach focuses on spending your time and effort in the most effective way possible. It helps shorten your sales cycle by ensuring that the leads entering your sales pipeline are high quality and likely to convert into long-term customers.

Speed Up Your Sales Process.

Long sales cycles are frustrating, and in many industries, they’re unavoidable. But streamlining processes, creating educational content, and refining your lead generation can make a crucial difference in your sales cycle.

If you’d like to learn more about how to speed up your sales cycle, visit our website at SIX.marketing to schedule some time to discuss your company’s unique needs with our VP of Business Development, Leah Parillo, or email leah@six.marketing directly.

It has been a few years now, April 2021, since New York State introduced the Pass Through Entity Tax (PTET) election option for small business owners. This was an innovative tax regime, and it continues to provide a great tax benefit for many individuals who are owners in pass through entities.

PTET offers a unique opportunity for pass-through entities to mitigate the impact of the federal SALT (State and Local Tax) deduction cap. Understanding the intricacies of PTET is crucial for business owners looking to maximize tax efficiency and compliance.

This article provides an overview of PTET, its purpose, implications, and key considerations for businesses operating in New York State.

The objective of PTET is to help mitigate the impact of the federal SALT deduction cap, which limits the amount of state and local taxes that individuals can deduct on their federal tax returns. PTET allows qualifying pass-through entities (S Corporations and Partnerships with at least one owner subject to NYS tax) to pay the state taxes at the entity level. This decreases the taxable income flowing to the individual, essentially giving them a deduction for state taxes that they would most likely not get due to the SALT deduction cap.

As a simplified example, an entity with $300,000 in NYS taxable PTET income would pay $20,550 in NYS PTET. This would reduce the income from the business being reported by the owners from $300,000 to $279,450. This saves the owners anywhere from approximately $4,000 to $7,000 in taxes, depending on their tax brackets. This tax savings most likely would be lost due to the SALT limitation if the full $300,000 in income flowed through to the owners. The $20,550 in taxes paid by the entity, then flow through as a credit on the owners New York State tax return so that there is no double taxation, and the savings from the deduction are true tax savings.

To qualify for PTET, a pass-through entity must be subject to New York State’s income tax, and have at least one individual owner or member subject to New York State personal income tax. The entity must elect into PTET each year by March 15, for that tax year. This election is done on the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website at, www.tax.ny.gov/bus/ptet/.

PTET is calculated based on the entity’s New York source income and is paid at a rate ranging from 6.85% to 10.9%, depending on the entity’s taxable income. However, there are certain deductions and adjustments available to reduce the tax liability. For instance, eligible entities can deduct taxes paid to other states, as well as certain business expenses and credits, when calculating their PTE tax liability.

The SALT deduction cap is set to expire in 2025 if nothing changes… At that point, it will be questionable whether the PTET election will yield a benefit to business owners, it will depend on the Standard Deduction amounts and Alternative Minimum Tax.

Therefore, it could still be used as a tax savings strategy and will need to be looked at on an annual basis. Pass-through entities electing PTET must comply with all applicable reporting requirements, and deadlines set forth by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Maintaining accurate records and fulfilling tax obligations in a timely manner is essential to avoid penalties or audits. The mechanics of, not only calculating, but reporting NYS addbacks and credits correctly will require the guidance of a qualified tax professional.

There can be administrative costs to this and so owners should review those administrative costs versus the benefit. PTET paid by the entity also creates implications for cash flow for the entity, as well as implications for allocations between partners and S Corporation shareholders. All of these items should be discussed with your tax professional.

In conclusion, if this is something you think you could benefit from, make sure you talk to your tax preparer soon. To benefit from this for the 2024 tax year you will need to make the election by March 15, 2024. This is an annual election therefore, each year you can determine if you want to make the election. Once you do make this election the entity is required to make quarterly estimates.