Lazy Point tenants in Amagansett could get longer leases after East Hampton vote

East Hampton Town Trustees are preparing to extend leases for residents of Amagansett’s Lazy Point on Gardiner’s Bay, the East Hampton Star reported. Lazy Point residents own their own homes, but lease the land beneath them. Ever since 2013, when trustees raised the annual rent by 50 percent, up to $1,500, tenants have been calling for new lease terms that would let them get mortgages. Their leases have also been year-to-year, which has made it hard to get the type of mortgages and loans that would let residents make property improvements. East Hampton trustees, who have drawn half of their annual revenue from the leases and a 4 percent transfer fee on Lazy Point home sales implemented in 2015, have gradually warmed to the idea. Joan Priore, secretary of the Lazy Point Neighborhood Association, told the East Hampton Star that better-maintained homes will generate higher transfer fees when they sell. Trustees are weighing a proposal that’s “close to a final draft,” which they hope to soon show the public for comment, the outlet reported. [EHS]