DYKER HEIGHTS – The Bay Ridge Lawyers united once again at their monthly stomping ground, Mama Rao’s, for another CLE the evening of Nov. 19.
The “Nuts and Bolts of FinCEN Residential Real Estate Rule Requirements” was the topic of discussion, courtesy of speaker Elizabeth Berg, Esq., vice president of Education and Training at FNF Family of Companies, a leading provider of real estate transaction services.
FinCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Their mission is to safeguard the financial system from illegal use, combat money laundering, prevent terrorism financing, and collect and analyze financial data to support law-enforcement investigations.
The CLE’s primary focus was the new FinCEN reporting requirements and their impact on residential transactions.
New reporting requirements
Starting March 1, 2026, residential real estate transactions involving cash deals – often a red flag for money laundering – have to be reported to FinCEN.
The rule is designed to reduce anonymity in all-cash or non-traditionally financed real estate deals.
“You’re going to be reporting a lot of information to the federal government,” Berg declared. “The job of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is to look at our monetary system and get the bad guys out of it – and that’s why we have these regulations.”
“Who in here is too pretty to go to jail?” Berg asked, after pointing out that this new regulation has criminal penalties if not followed.
The regulation applies nationwide and also introduces new reporting requirements for non-financed residential property transfers to legal entities or trusts.
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