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.
Once your property is deemed delinquent in property taxes, the county will add this information into the file with other properties that are going up for auction as well. Once this procedure starts, there is only one way to stop it, you have to pay the taxes and have it taken off the list. You will have to pay the penalties and any interest that has accumulated over the years. When you have a receipt stating payment has been made, your property is then safe from auction and you retain ownership.
If you do not pay the property taxes, the auction will go as planned. People sign up to participate in a property auction and are allowed to view information about the property before bidding starts. Many bidders will search the title to see if there are any other lien holders on the property in question. Even if you are a mortgage holder, your property can be auctioned off. The legalities of a mortgage are more intense then the auction itself. The county will put a minimum limit requirement on the property to recoup as much of the tax owed as possible and allow bidders to bid accordingly. Once some wins the bid, you have a new situation to handle.
Chances are, the winning bidder has searched the title and now knows who the mortgage lender is and where to reach them. The winning bidder does have a stake in the property and now it is a matter of obtaining the property from you as the owner in a legal sense. This is procedure is going to be lengthy and costly in some cases. You are wise to contact a property tax attorney before you let this matter get this far, because you will have more problems now than you had before with just owing property taxes.
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Property tax and personal property tax is different because the property tax deals with the building and land. Personal property tax deals with vehicles, boats, planes and other motorcycles. Any type of artwork is subject to personal property tax. If you have a business, any of the inventories is subject to personal property tax as well as bonds or any stocks. The only thing not subject to tax is household goods or personal belongings. The state rather than the community governments more commonly do personal property taxes. Thus however, may be different from state to state.
In some states, local counties send out personal property tax documents to businesses that are to be completed and returned before a certain date. This personal property amount is then used to determine your next years tax due. For example, a tavern owner, claims everything he owns in the building such computers, cash registers, bar stools, bar lights, mirrors and any games as well as televisions. If you own the building, then you would also claim coolers and other things in the bar.
If you do not own the bar and are just leasing the business you do not claim the coolers or anything else that belongs to the owner of the property. The person that owns the building may also include bar equipment with the lease that are customary to a bar business. The owner might own the bar stools as well, then the owner of the building claims these items and not the business owner. Personal property tax is sometimes tricky if you do not understand what you need to claim and what is not claimed. The difference between owning and renting the equipment is another issue where people do not know who is responsible for what.
For a person renting a building to run a business, you will claim the things that you own and the property owner will claim the things in the building that he or she owns. This is the easiest way to look at a business personal property tax. Never claim anything that is not yours. If you rent pool tables or video games from a company, you do not claim these as well. The company that supplies them to you claims the games. If you have any questions about depreciating your personal property, a tax consultant can help you with this process.
You must try to be as exact as you can when figuring out depreciation of personal property. If you have a television set that you bought for $195 three years ago, chances are it has a value of only $25. This is just an example, but you understand the process better. You never want to give a value for something that might be higher than what the item is really worth. This could cause your personal property tax liability to be higher than it needs to be. If you do not understand depreciation, you should always seek outside help to find out actual value at the time.
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.
Agency, Lawyer And Accounting Fees
If you use a lawyer or an accountant for your rental property, you will use the fees you pay to them as a rental property tax deduction. This is also true for any fees paid to a rental agency that you use to find and scan potential renters. All these fees are tax deductible. This is also true for any advertising you do yourself to find a renter or tenant. These fees are deductible on your taxes.
Mortgage Payments, Insurance Payments And Property Taxes
If you pay a monthly mortgage payment, you can deduct the payment on your taxes. You will also deduct your mortgage interest and property taxes in another area of the tax forms. The insurance premiums that you pay on the rental property are also deductible. This includes any special insurance you need for flood or other weather related issues.
All Other Rental Property Deductions
If you pay someone to do yard work or shovel snow, you van deduct it as a service rendered. For a cleaning service, you will deduct this as well. If you do any repairs or any type of maintenance on the property, you can deduct this as well. Remember to keep track of all the miles you drive to and from the property or to stores to get supplies for work done on the rental property, these miles or actually a percentage of them are tax deductible.
Because a rental home is just like a business, you are allowed many more deductions than if you were to just live in the house yourself. In some cases, this makes sense, but in some cases, it causes more paperwork and you have to keep the property in working order just as you do with any profitable business or you will lose your investment.
If you are concerned about any of the statements on your property tax bill, especially the property tax assessment value, you might want to consult with a property tax attorney. Although you can do the process yourself, you may feel overwhelmed by the legalities and find it necessary to have help. You can look in your local phone book under attorney's ad then look for a lawyer that specializes in property tax issues. You may need to talk to a few attorneys before you find one that can help you with your case.
The property tax attorney can also help you if you owe delinquent property taxes. They can help you save your property from a property tax auction. Whether you need an attorney for fighting a high assessment value or for help establishing a payment plane to pay delinquent taxes, you should find one that specializes in these areas. A divorce lawyer or a estate lawyer may not be the best choice in this case. You need someone that understands the tax laws, and has dealt with property tax issues. This will benefit you more than you could understand. Someone that knows the tax laws is more qualified.
Some people may feel this is extreme for lowering your tax liability, but when you consider the years of taxes paid at a higher assessment rate, you are better off paying an attorney with knowledge and a proven record of accomplishment than paying several thousand dollars over the course of many years. Property assessments are not done every year and when they are done, they very rarely go down, but rather they go up. This will cause problems if you decide to sell your property. Many people look for the assessed value as well as the fair market value.
If you need a property tax attorney, you will find that they are qualified in most areas of the laws governing taxes. You may use a tax attorney to reduce your tax liability on county taxes due, if your property is tax exempt and the bill says that is not. You can also use a property tax attorney if you find your tax bill states your home is a two family home rather than a single family home. This matters because, you are suppose to have less tax liability for a single-family home than a two family home.
The property tax attorney will need all the available documents. The attorney will more than likely ask a private company to do another assessment of the property. This just ensures that you have grounds for an appeal. If the private company finds the assessment to be accurate, you might need to reconsider your appeal.
If the company feels the assessment is over what your particular property is should be assessed at, then you will use this report as part of your argument for appealing the property tax bill. You always need to think about this before jumping in, you want to have the information you need before filing any papers with the community.
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Where Does The Property Tax Money Go
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.
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.
Other Districts That Use The Property Tax Money
If your county has a county owned nursing home, some of the funds are directed at the nursing home for up keep and salaries as well as needed supplies not covered by the state. Fire and police also use some the tax money for buying new cars, special equipment and salaries. Libraries and park systems receive monies for operating costs and up keep of the buildings and grounds as well as salaries. Ambulances that are operated in the county are given a small portion of the monies for operating costs.
Cities, Counties And Townships
Cities, county and townships use the monies for paying government salaries and funding different building projects as well as up keep of some roads. The money is also used to clean up highways garbage collection and some cemetery up keeping if the community owns them. The communities use the monies for many different things and every community and state has different laws governing the use of the money collected from property taxes.
The overall picture about where your property tax money goes is vague. Every state and community has a board called a finance committee that designates where your property tax money goes and how it is spent. Just because the school district receives so much money, they still have to explain to the committee why they need the money and they have to present a proposal to the committee.
The committee then votes on the use of the money, either grants or denies the use of the funds. In some cases, a small portion of the funds requested may be released depending on how the committee votes. All funds are voted on before being released to any district that has money set aside.
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.
Other Districts That Use The Property Tax Money
If your county has a county owned nursing home, some of the funds are directed at the nursing home for up keep and salaries as well as needed supplies not covered by the state. Fire and police also use some the tax money for buying new cars, special equipment and salaries. Libraries and park systems receive monies for operating costs and up keep of the buildings and grounds as well as salaries. Ambulances that are operated in the county are given a small portion of the monies for operating costs.
Cities, Counties And Townships
Cities, county and townships use the monies for paying government salaries and funding different building projects as well as up keep of some roads. The money is also used to clean up highways garbage collection and some cemetery up keeping if the community owns them. The communities use the monies for many different things and every community and state has different laws governing the use of the money collected from property taxes.
The overall picture about where your property tax money goes is vague. Every state and community has a board called a finance committee that designates where your property tax money goes and how it is spent. Just because the school district receives so much money, they still have to explain to the committee why they need the money and they have to present a proposal to the committee.
The committee then votes on the use of the money, either grants or denies the use of the funds. In some cases, a small portion of the funds requested may be released depending on how the committee votes. All funds are voted on before being released to any district that has money set aside.
When Selling A Property, Who Is Responsible For The Property Taxes
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.
You might wonder how they divide up property taxes and for a year. The mortgage lender of the seller will take the total property taxes owed from the past year and divide this by twelve months. After finding a monthly amount owed every month, they then will divide the number of days in the month of the closing that the buyer had the property in their name by the monthly amount. This will give a prorated property tax amount owed by the seller. The same is done to calculate the remainder of the months for the buyer.
Who Receives The Lottery Credit If There Is One
The lottery credit is usually awarded to the buyer. If the lottery credit is smaller than the previous year, you may have to add some money to your escrow account to pay the property taxes. If the lottery credit is smaller, you may see a small refund coming your way. This amount however is never very much, it could be as high as fifty dollars or as low as five dollars that you would owe or receive a refund for unless there are other circumstances you are unaware of with the taxes.
You never have to worry about the property taxes when a property change takes place, the mortgage lenders would not allow the seller to forget about their share. There are officers of the mortgage company that have special jobs and one is the property tax issues and insurance as well.
Your first year of property taxes is always your best, it can change after that, especially if they raise your taxes after a sale of the property and you are not escrowing enough money to cover the raise. Your mortgage company made alter your monthly payment to cover this issue.
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.
You might wonder how they divide up property taxes and for a year. The mortgage lender of the seller will take the total property taxes owed from the past year and divide this by twelve months. After finding a monthly amount owed every month, they then will divide the number of days in the month of the closing that the buyer had the property in their name by the monthly amount. This will give a prorated property tax amount owed by the seller. The same is done to calculate the remainder of the months for the buyer.
Who Receives The Lottery Credit If There Is One
The lottery credit is usually awarded to the buyer. If the lottery credit is smaller than the previous year, you may have to add some money to your escrow account to pay the property taxes. If the lottery credit is smaller, you may see a small refund coming your way. This amount however is never very much, it could be as high as fifty dollars or as low as five dollars that you would owe or receive a refund for unless there are other circumstances you are unaware of with the taxes.
You never have to worry about the property taxes when a property change takes place, the mortgage lenders would not allow the seller to forget about their share. There are officers of the mortgage company that have special jobs and one is the property tax issues and insurance as well.
Your first year of property taxes is always your best, it can change after that, especially if they raise your taxes after a sale of the property and you are not escrowing enough money to cover the raise. Your mortgage company made alter your monthly payment to cover this issue.
What To Bring With You To A Property Tax Attorney
When you schedule an appointment with a property tax attorney, you need to go to his office prepared. If you do not take along all the necessary documents and information, your first visit may be a waste of time and money causing a return trip with added fees. When you call the property tax attorney, you need to give your full name, property address as well as how to contact you if needed. Being prepared is very important when dealing with any tax information.
The lawyer needs to know everything about you in order to help you. You may even need to supply information about your business if you have issues with a commercial property. The attorney needs to know you completely if they are going to represent you to their best of their abilities. Many property tax attorney's will have you fill out an extensive questionnaire before arriving at their office to cut down on time spent getting to know each other. This benefits you and the attorney. The more information the attorney has about you before the first meeting allows you to get down to business.
You will want to bring a copy of your past years property tax bill and the current year property tax bill. This is needed if you are having any issues with your tax bill. If you have a home or a commercial property, you will want to have all documentation pertaining to the building itself. If you are concerned about high property taxes or even the assessed value, you might even save time and find some information about other properties with equal fair market value that are lower or even higher than your property. The more information you have the faster the meeting will progress. This sis important if you are trying to save some time and money.
You may even have your own questions for a property tax attorney to help you decide if he or she is qualified to help you with your tax issues. You may want to know if the attorney has handled any cases similar to your case, how many of the cases were won and loss as well as what expertise he or she has in the field of property taxes. You may also want to know what the attorney thinks your chances are for winning your case after you going over all the details with you.
When you hire a property tax attorney, you want someone that will be there to represent you and tell you the facts no matter if it is good news or bad news. Once you establish a good relationship with a tax attorney, you should have a truthful working arrangement. The tax attorney can take you step by step through the processes that are needed for your particular tax issues and tell you approximately how long it should take to resolve any issues. Once everything has started, you should not switch attorneys or it could upset the process up to that point.
The lawyer needs to know everything about you in order to help you. You may even need to supply information about your business if you have issues with a commercial property. The attorney needs to know you completely if they are going to represent you to their best of their abilities. Many property tax attorney's will have you fill out an extensive questionnaire before arriving at their office to cut down on time spent getting to know each other. This benefits you and the attorney. The more information the attorney has about you before the first meeting allows you to get down to business.
You will want to bring a copy of your past years property tax bill and the current year property tax bill. This is needed if you are having any issues with your tax bill. If you have a home or a commercial property, you will want to have all documentation pertaining to the building itself. If you are concerned about high property taxes or even the assessed value, you might even save time and find some information about other properties with equal fair market value that are lower or even higher than your property. The more information you have the faster the meeting will progress. This sis important if you are trying to save some time and money.
You may even have your own questions for a property tax attorney to help you decide if he or she is qualified to help you with your tax issues. You may want to know if the attorney has handled any cases similar to your case, how many of the cases were won and loss as well as what expertise he or she has in the field of property taxes. You may also want to know what the attorney thinks your chances are for winning your case after you going over all the details with you.
When you hire a property tax attorney, you want someone that will be there to represent you and tell you the facts no matter if it is good news or bad news. Once you establish a good relationship with a tax attorney, you should have a truthful working arrangement. The tax attorney can take you step by step through the processes that are needed for your particular tax issues and tell you approximately how long it should take to resolve any issues. Once everything has started, you should not switch attorneys or it could upset the process up to that point.
What Really Affects Your Property Taxes
The first thing that affects your property taxes is the spending habits of your school district, other taxing districts, county and city. If the school district has big plans for renovations, new computers, raises in salary or anything else pertaining to the school district, you may see an increase in property taxes to support their spending. Keep in mind that there is a point when the state draws a line on how much can be charged to your property taxes. Many school districts have to find other means to accomplish everything on their agenda because they are only allowed so much money from taxes.
The next thing that affects your property taxes is the assessed value of your property. Many states call this the market value of your property. Although fair market value and the assessed value of your property are different, this does affect your property tax. If your property is compared to other properties of the same structure in your area that have sold or been built, you may see an increase in you assessed value of the property, which when used for calculations will raise your property tax. This makes some property owners outraged because they know they could never sell the property for that amount of money.
Another thing that affects your property taxes is the changes to tax laws, state aid formulas and classification rates by the legislation. This has a big impact on your property taxes after an assessment of your property has been concluded. You may see a huge jump in property taxes when the legislative committee approves a tax hike. There is no way around this for property owners, unless you challenge the assessed value of your property through an appeals process. However, the classification rates and tax laws cannot be affected in a property tax appeal.
If your county has any type of referendum to vote on that can raise taxes and it is voted for, this is also going to affect your taxes. It could raise your tax liability a small amount depending on what it is for and what amount is needed. This is the main reason that most referendums that come up for vote by the voters is voted out. Property owners do not want to pay more than what they are already paying in property taxes.
Again, depending on the state you live in or even the county, you might see an addition to you property tax bill for any road or sewer work done in the prior year in front of your property. This amount is usually split between all the property owners in the area where the work is done. This does happen quite often, which is one reason many potential buyers look for properties on newer streets that have had necessary work already done. These are all things that affect your property tax bill. For the most part, you have no way to avoid the increase in tax or paying the tax. You can use an appeal process depending on which part of your tax bill you are questioning.
The next thing that affects your property taxes is the assessed value of your property. Many states call this the market value of your property. Although fair market value and the assessed value of your property are different, this does affect your property tax. If your property is compared to other properties of the same structure in your area that have sold or been built, you may see an increase in you assessed value of the property, which when used for calculations will raise your property tax. This makes some property owners outraged because they know they could never sell the property for that amount of money.
Another thing that affects your property taxes is the changes to tax laws, state aid formulas and classification rates by the legislation. This has a big impact on your property taxes after an assessment of your property has been concluded. You may see a huge jump in property taxes when the legislative committee approves a tax hike. There is no way around this for property owners, unless you challenge the assessed value of your property through an appeals process. However, the classification rates and tax laws cannot be affected in a property tax appeal.
If your county has any type of referendum to vote on that can raise taxes and it is voted for, this is also going to affect your taxes. It could raise your tax liability a small amount depending on what it is for and what amount is needed. This is the main reason that most referendums that come up for vote by the voters is voted out. Property owners do not want to pay more than what they are already paying in property taxes.
Again, depending on the state you live in or even the county, you might see an addition to you property tax bill for any road or sewer work done in the prior year in front of your property. This amount is usually split between all the property owners in the area where the work is done. This does happen quite often, which is one reason many potential buyers look for properties on newer streets that have had necessary work already done. These are all things that affect your property tax bill. For the most part, you have no way to avoid the increase in tax or paying the tax. You can use an appeal process depending on which part of your tax bill you are questioning.
What Is Included In Personal Property Tax
Property tax and personal property tax is different because the property tax deals with the building and land. Personal property tax deals with vehicles, boats, planes and other motorcycles. Any type of artwork is subject to personal property tax. If you have a business, any of the inventories is subject to personal property tax as well as bonds or any stocks. The only thing not subject to tax is household goods or personal belongings. The state rather than the community governments more commonly do personal property taxes. Thus however, may be different from state to state.
In some states, local counties send out personal property tax documents to businesses that are to be completed and returned before a certain date. This personal property amount is then used to determine your next years tax due. For example, a tavern owner, claims everything he owns in the building such computers, cash registers, bar stools, bar lights, mirrors and any games as well as televisions. If you own the building, then you would also claim coolers and other things in the bar.
If you do not own the bar and are just leasing the business you do not claim the coolers or anything else that belongs to the owner of the property. The person that owns the building may also include bar equipment with the lease that are customary to a bar business. The owner might own the bar stools as well, then the owner of the building claims these items and not the business owner. Personal property tax is sometimes tricky if you do not understand what you need to claim and what is not claimed. The difference between owning and renting the equipment is another issue where people do not know who is responsible for what.
For a person renting a building to run a business, you will claim the things that you own and the property owner will claim the things in the building that he or she owns. This is the easiest way to look at a business personal property tax. Never claim anything that is not yours. If you rent pool tables or video games from a company, you do not claim these as well. The company that supplies them to you claims the games. If you have any questions about depreciating your personal property, a tax consultant can help you with this process.
You must try to be as exact as you can when figuring out depreciation of personal property. If you have a television set that you bought for $195 three years ago, chances are it has a value of only $25. This is just an example, but you understand the process better. You never want to give a value for something that might be higher than what the item is really worth. This could cause your personal property tax liability to be higher than it needs to be. If you do not understand depreciation, you should always seek outside help to find out actual value at the time.
What Is A Rental Property Tax Deduction
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.
Agency, Lawyer And Accounting Fees
If you use a lawyer or an accountant for your rental property, you will use the fees you pay to them as a rental property tax deduction. This is also true for any fees paid to a rental agency that you use to find and scan potential renters. All these fees are tax deductible. This is also true for any advertising you do yourself to find a renter or tenant. These fees are deductible on your taxes.
Mortgage Payments, Insurance Payments And Property Taxes
If you pay a monthly mortgage payment, you can deduct the payment on your taxes. You will also deduct your mortgage interest and property taxes in another area of the tax forms. The insurance premiums that you pay on the rental property are also deductible. This includes any special insurance you need for flood or other weather related issues.
All Other Rental Property Deductions
If you pay someone to do yard work or shovel snow, you van deduct it as a service rendered. For a cleaning service, you will deduct this as well. If you do any repairs or any type of maintenance on the property, you can deduct this as well. Remember to keep track of all the miles you drive to and from the property or to stores to get supplies for work done on the rental property, these miles or actually a percentage of them are tax deductible.
Because a rental home is just like a business, you are allowed many more deductions than if you were to just live in the house yourself. In some cases, this makes sense, but in some cases, it causes more paperwork and you have to keep the property in working order just as you do with any profitable business or you will lose your investment.
What Happens At A Property Tax Auction
If you have a property that is delinquent on property taxes, the city or town that the taxes are owed to will hold a property tax auction to sell the property in question and redeem the delinquent taxes. This type of auction is not as common in some areas as it is in others. Many times, a property owner who owes back property taxes will try to raise the monies before the property tax auction and keep ownership of said property. In some cases, the properties are sold. In many cases, the amount owed in delinquent property taxes is so low, that the buyer is receiving an excellent deal.
To bid on properties at a property tax auction, most states require that your register prior to the start of the auction. Once you are registered, you are given some details about the property and times and date when the property tax auction will take place. Once the auction begins, you will have an ID number, which will represent you as a bidder. As the auction proceeds, bids are entered until the final bid is received. After this time, a winning bidder has so much time to produce the monies to pay for his or her bid and take control of the property.
There are some things to check before attending a property tax auction, which will protect you if you decide to bid on the property. Check with a title insurance company to see if there are any other outstanding liens on the property. If there are, you may want to find out the amount and if it is possible to clear them with payment or if the owner has to clear these liens up before you can take control of the title.
This is done to protect you from buying a property and later finding out that you cannot take control of the title. Many people forget this simple step and have ended up paying more than expected to take control of a title. If the title is clear of any other liens, you should have a title in your name within a month's time. You may also want to discuss this with a lawyer prior to bidding.
Most auction companies do not have access to a title company for verifying the title. If you find that the title does indeed have liens or other assessments against it, you can back out of the deal, however, this is another lengthy procedure. Before bidding on any property, you should pay to have a title search done to protect yourself. If there is a loan company attached to the property, you may be responsible for mortgage payments that are due on the property.
Title searches do cost some money, but you might be able to find out some of the important information from the local clerks office if they have open records, which most do. You can then see if there is a mortgage attached to the property and the name of the lender.
To bid on properties at a property tax auction, most states require that your register prior to the start of the auction. Once you are registered, you are given some details about the property and times and date when the property tax auction will take place. Once the auction begins, you will have an ID number, which will represent you as a bidder. As the auction proceeds, bids are entered until the final bid is received. After this time, a winning bidder has so much time to produce the monies to pay for his or her bid and take control of the property.
There are some things to check before attending a property tax auction, which will protect you if you decide to bid on the property. Check with a title insurance company to see if there are any other outstanding liens on the property. If there are, you may want to find out the amount and if it is possible to clear them with payment or if the owner has to clear these liens up before you can take control of the title.
This is done to protect you from buying a property and later finding out that you cannot take control of the title. Many people forget this simple step and have ended up paying more than expected to take control of a title. If the title is clear of any other liens, you should have a title in your name within a month's time. You may also want to discuss this with a lawyer prior to bidding.
Most auction companies do not have access to a title company for verifying the title. If you find that the title does indeed have liens or other assessments against it, you can back out of the deal, however, this is another lengthy procedure. Before bidding on any property, you should pay to have a title search done to protect yourself. If there is a loan company attached to the property, you may be responsible for mortgage payments that are due on the property.
Title searches do cost some money, but you might be able to find out some of the important information from the local clerks office if they have open records, which most do. You can then see if there is a mortgage attached to the property and the name of the lender.
Using A Property Tax Attorney
If you are concerned about any of the statements on your property tax bill, especially the property tax assessment value, you might want to consult with a property tax attorney. Although you can do the process yourself, you may feel overwhelmed by the legalities and find it necessary to have help. You can look in your local phone book under attorney's ad then look for a lawyer that specializes in property tax issues. You may need to talk to a few attorneys before you find one that can help you with your case.
The property tax attorney can also help you if you owe delinquent property taxes. They can help you save your property from a property tax auction. Whether you need an attorney for fighting a high assessment value or for help establishing a payment plane to pay delinquent taxes, you should find one that specializes in these areas. A divorce lawyer or a estate lawyer may not be the best choice in this case. You need someone that understands the tax laws, and has dealt with property tax issues. This will benefit you more than you could understand. Someone that knows the tax laws is more qualified.
Some people may feel this is extreme for lowering your tax liability, but when you consider the years of taxes paid at a higher assessment rate, you are better off paying an attorney with knowledge and a proven record of accomplishment than paying several thousand dollars over the course of many years. Property assessments are not done every year and when they are done, they very rarely go down, but rather they go up. This will cause problems if you decide to sell your property. Many people look for the assessed value as well as the fair market value.
If you need a property tax attorney, you will find that they are qualified in most areas of the laws governing taxes. You may use a tax attorney to reduce your tax liability on county taxes due, if your property is tax exempt and the bill says that is not. You can also use a property tax attorney if you find your tax bill states your home is a two family home rather than a single family home. This matters because, you are suppose to have less tax liability for a single-family home than a two family home.
The property tax attorney will need all the available documents. The attorney will more than likely ask a private company to do another assessment of the property. This just ensures that you have grounds for an appeal. If the private company finds the assessment to be accurate, you might need to reconsider your appeal.
If the company feels the assessment is over what your particular property is should be assessed at, then you will use this report as part of your argument for appealing the property tax bill. You always need to think about this before jumping in, you want to have the information you need before filing any papers with the community.
Understanding Your Property Tax Bill
The first thing to understand about your property tax bill is the terminology. Many people look at the tax bill and see a bunch of numbers that have no meaning to them. In reality, they do have a special meaning to the property owner. If you do not understand what the sections on your property tax bill mean, you might not know if this bill is correct or not. Here are some terms that you need to understand when looking at the tax bill.
Fair cash value is what the property can be sold for between two parties without any duress. The assessed value of the property is what the city or county deems a fair assessment of what the property is worth. This is figured out by comparing your property to similar properties in the same area that have sold recently.
Exemption means the removal of said property from the tax base, this is only a part of the assessed value of the property. This might hold true for a church that is only used for religious activities. It may also be due to a homestead exemption. If it is for a home that is considered a religious property for worship only, you can claim the tax exempt status if you only use it for church activities, no personal use.
When you look at the property tax bill, you will see the tax rate. This is the tax due on the property after being calculated with percentages of the tax base. The term taxing district represents the schools and local government that has the levy against your property taxes. The tax code is used for office purposes of the county clerk that represents a combination of taxing structures or bodies.
For those who have a lottery, you will see a section where it states that you are receiving a lottery credit, which will lower your total property tax due. Everyone in the county receives a lottery credit and that is why the credits are usually very small in amounts. The lottery credit will affect your total tax due and not the tax base.
Once you understand the property tax bill terminology, it does make it a little easier to understand the bill. If you do see problems or you have issues with the tax bill, you can request a property tax appeal with the help of a property tax lawyer or consultant. It is always wise to consult an attorney before taking such a step where property tax and the government are concerned.
If you see that your lottery credit is missing or different from others, you might need to question this or question your assessed value of the property. You might even have questions regarding the fair market value of your property. You can always question the bill before paying it, if you do not receive answers that you understand, visit a property tax consultant and see if they can help explain the answers you need to your questions.
Fair cash value is what the property can be sold for between two parties without any duress. The assessed value of the property is what the city or county deems a fair assessment of what the property is worth. This is figured out by comparing your property to similar properties in the same area that have sold recently.
Exemption means the removal of said property from the tax base, this is only a part of the assessed value of the property. This might hold true for a church that is only used for religious activities. It may also be due to a homestead exemption. If it is for a home that is considered a religious property for worship only, you can claim the tax exempt status if you only use it for church activities, no personal use.
When you look at the property tax bill, you will see the tax rate. This is the tax due on the property after being calculated with percentages of the tax base. The term taxing district represents the schools and local government that has the levy against your property taxes. The tax code is used for office purposes of the county clerk that represents a combination of taxing structures or bodies.
For those who have a lottery, you will see a section where it states that you are receiving a lottery credit, which will lower your total property tax due. Everyone in the county receives a lottery credit and that is why the credits are usually very small in amounts. The lottery credit will affect your total tax due and not the tax base.
Once you understand the property tax bill terminology, it does make it a little easier to understand the bill. If you do see problems or you have issues with the tax bill, you can request a property tax appeal with the help of a property tax lawyer or consultant. It is always wise to consult an attorney before taking such a step where property tax and the government are concerned.
If you see that your lottery credit is missing or different from others, you might need to question this or question your assessed value of the property. You might even have questions regarding the fair market value of your property. You can always question the bill before paying it, if you do not receive answers that you understand, visit a property tax consultant and see if they can help explain the answers you need to your questions.
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