When Selling A Property, Who Is Responsible For The Property Taxes
Posted on May 13, 2008 in the Property taxes category
When you are selling a property and it is in the middle of a property tax year, the seller is responsible for the property taxes up to the day of closing after which time the remaining tax is due by the buyer. Now some people are very unaware of this fact when they close on a property and usually find out at the closing. The seller will bring a check along for their part of the taxes and the seller’s mortgage company receives the check, which is deposited in the buyer’s escrow account. This however is only one option presented for coving split property taxes.
Many times the seller’s mortgage company will keep the funds and send it directly to the property tax office at the appropriate time of year. This rare of course, but has been done in the past. It all depends on the new mortgage company for the buyer and the mortgage company for the seller. The proper way many believe is to give the monies to the buyer’s mortgage lender and have them send the check to the property tax office by passing the intermediary, which is the buyer. This ensures the buyer’s mortgage lender that the money is indeed going for the property taxes. Read more
5 Sneaky Ways To Lower Your Property Tax
Posted on May 6, 2008 in the Property taxes category
Many property owners do not want the city assessor to come into the interior of their building. If you have done extensive work, well, then okay, you have a reason. If you have done no repairs and feel the interior of the property is a bit to be desired, you may wish to invite the assessor inside.
Make sure you are available to walk around your property with the assessor and point out the bowed walls because the roof needs to be replaced. Point out the unleveled floor because the property has shifted a bit over the years and probably needs some support beams. Point out some good things as well, never dwell on just the bad points. This might help to lower your assessment, thus lower your property tax liability. Read more
Property Taxes For Rental Properties
Posted on April 29, 2008 in the Property taxes category
Property taxes for rental properties are normally higher than single-family properties. This causes much confusion for property owners in any state. They cannot understand why they are subject to higher property taxes since most are not making a profit on the properties in question. With people buying two family houses to help with the mortgage payment and property taxes, there are some frustrations over why they have to pay higher property taxes. Many property owners feel they are being singled out for trying to own a property for their family while providing housing for someone else as well.
The general rule for property taxes is that if you have a two family home, you are paying property taxes for two families in that taxing district. The home will be compared to other homes similar in structure as well as recently bought and sold homes to arrive at a fair assessed value. This however does not affect your status for taxes, the rates applied by the taxing committee is where your assessed value is used to calculate the tax due on the property. This is where they get you for owning a two family home. You can find out more information at your local taxing office as to how they calculate tax rates for single and two family houses. Read more
What Is A Rental Property Tax Deduction
Posted on April 22, 2008 in the Property taxes category
A rental property tax deduction is any expense that evolves from owning a rental property. If you spent money to maintain, conserve and manage a rental property, you can use that as a property tax deduction. The most common deductions will be yard care, maintenance, repairs, insurance payments, cleaning and the mortgage payment if there are any. Some other property tax deductions that most people forget about are fees for an accountant, fees for a lawyer, expenses for finding renters, fees paid to rental agencies for finding you a renter, any mileage that is accumulated for said property and depreciation for items included in the rental and of the property itself.
Depreciation Of The Property And Items In The Rental Unit
The depreciation of items in the rental unit may include anything you supply to the tenant such as appliances, furniture, blinds, curtains and other items you might supply for a tenant. You can use these items by depreciating them accordingly. The property depreciation is usually done over a longer period. This is an area for your accountant to handle since they have more experience with depreciating items and properties. You want it done correctly and at the proper time. Read more
Different Circumstances For Property Tax Reduction
Posted on April 15, 2008 in the Property taxes category
There are some reasons why people receive a property tax reduction. Veterans, seniors, and low income homeowners can apply for a tax reduction or a tax deferral. Keep in mind that not everyone who applies receives the reduction or deferral. The state and community you reside in may vary from other states and communities. If you do not qualify, you can ask for installment payments on your property taxes. This is one way to avoid foreclosure and possible auction of your property.
For low income homeowners owners, the county treasure’s office or an online source can supply you with a hardship application. You need to have proof of ownership, income documents, identification and proof of residency. You can also receive information on challenging your property tax increase, obtaining more time to pay, how to obtain relief from property taxes in the future and find information from company’s that offer low income financial assistance. Read more
Where Does The Property Tax Money Go
Posted on April 1, 2008 in the Property taxes category
When you pay your property tax, it is paid to the clerk’s office where it is then placed into a special account until it is divided up between school districts, city and townships, and the county. There is a portion of the tax dollars that is directed to other districts, which might include a nursing home owned by the city, county, or something similar that requires tax dollars to operate. Fire, ambulance, parks, libraries, and others receive a portion of the tax dollars as well. How much each group receives is different for every state and community. However, the highest pay goes to the school districts and then the city, county and townships.Â
What Does The School District Do With The Money
The school districts use the money to pay teachers, supervisors and custodians. They money is also used towards school lunch programs as well as the new breakfast programs some schools offer. Anything related to building a school, up keep and remodeling is all funded with tax dollars. Some of the money is used for books and other supplies needed in the school for computer classes, woodshop, home economics and science materials. The money spent by schools is for bettering the education of children. Read more
Is There Relief From High Property Taxes
Posted on March 25, 2008 in the Property taxes category
The answer is more likely no. As long as the cost of living continues to rise, property taxes will continue to rise as well. Even with the housing market right now, the economy is still on the rise. Schools still need money, communities need money and other districts need money as well. If no one would need money, like back in the cowboy and Indian days, then no one would have to pay taxes. Since this will never happen, property taxes are going to continue. Schools and school district are the major holder of the capital funds that are brought in by property taxes.
The only way to reduce property taxes and find some relief is to find better ways for schools to utilize smaller amounts of money. One example of poor spending happened in one local community, where the school board approved buying some type of removable flooring for a certain school without considering the time and labor needed to place it and remove between group activities. As a result, the expensive flooring is not used and was offered to another school in the community. This resulted in taxpayer’s money being spent foolishly and is now not available for other needs. Read more
Your Property Taxes And A Property Tax Auction
Posted on March 18, 2008 in the Property taxes category
If you fail to pay your property taxes when they are due and continue to avoid paying them, you stand a good chance of accumulating penalties and interest. After a given amount of time, the county office can place a lien on your property. If you continue to avoid paying the property taxes, you home can succumb to the auction block. This can be done even if you owe an outstanding mortgage on the home. You or someone else is going to have to pay the outstanding balance owed on the property taxes. It is always best to pay the taxes, but if you do not, an auction can take place.
How the auction works is the county decides you have had ample time to pay the property taxes and you have made no effort to do so. They will then notify any lenders of intent to auction your property to recoup the taxes monies owed. Once the process starts, you still have time to save your property before the day of the auction. If you have the resources, you can apply monies to the delinquent property taxes and have your property taken off the auction block.
Some Ways To Help Keep Property Taxes Lower
Posted on March 18, 2008 in the Property taxes category
There are a few ways for taxpayers to help keep property taxes lower. The first way is to attend public meeting where decisions are being made about spending limits and spending in general. If you do not participate in meeting that is open to the public for suggestions and opinions, you cannot blame anyone for higher property taxes. If the community spending committee we will call them wants to raise taxes so they can afford to give aldermen and government officials a raise in salary, then no one will be at the meeting to voice their opinion and make people think.
 If a committee is interested in buying land from a property owner and it is a substantial amount of money that will require an increase in property taxes, you might use a petition to request a vote when the next election is scheduled. This is done in many states and communities. This allows the voters who are tax-paying citizens to vote for or against the proposal. All spending should be done this way. That way everyone in the community has a say or a vote if you may on whether or not this type of spending is necessary.
Insurance as an investment for a bright future
Posted on March 9, 2008 in the Uncategorized category
In today’s current market, many individuals are choosing to use insurance as an investment in their future in such forms as life insurance and child insurance. Using insurance in this manner is a risky business and returns on the investment are not always guaranteed. Before an individual decides to use insurance in this manner, there are a few things that they should be aware of to make the decision making process easier.
Using insurance as an investment is not always an easy task. There are many different insurance products that can be added to an investment portfolio in order to obtain a return on the initial investment of purchasing the insurance instrument. Each one of these different insurance instruments offers a different rate of return based on the current insurance market and the performance of the fund that the investment instrument belongs to.
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