lovinmyboys Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 We close on our house next week and overall I am happy with it. Dh’s company will reimburse closing costs, so we are paying a few thousand less than asking price and we are paying the sellers closing costs as well. I didn’t realize when we offered that, that it included their unpaid property taxes from this year. That is a few thousand more than I was expecting to pay and we have to have it in cash at closing. When I said closing costs I thought it meant title fee, appraiser, inspection, loan fees, etc. Dh’s company doesn’t reimburse for property taxes and homeowner insurance fees. I didn’t realize that when people said closing costs they included things other than the cost of the loan. So, it will be a bit tight this summer. I am just so irritated with myself for not doing more research. I feel like when we bought a house before, the sellers paid our closing costs and I am sure they didn’t prepay our insurance and taxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted May 6, 2019 Share Posted May 6, 2019 Shouldn't those taxes be pro-rated? If the title company didn't do that, I would have your realtor argue the point. That's kinda uncool. Sorry you are going to have a tight summer. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmyboys Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 They aren’t really behind on the taxes-it is just the amount they owe from January-May of this year. Our realtor is looking into it. I feel like that is money owed at closing, but isn’t really a cost of closing. I don’t know if it matters what I think though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 That would catch me by surprise, too. Is that spelled out anywhere? It seems a little fishy but I'm not an expert. For sure, your realtor should have been aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I always thought of closing costs as costs of the mortgage fees and stuff, not taxes, water bills, etc. That said when we closed on our last house it was spelled out as a certain percentage of the house price towards closing costs (for the person we were selling to) or an actual dollar amount towards closing (what the person selling to us paid). I would not have put a blank check so to speak on just saying closing costs. I am surprised your realtor didn't say anything about it before you agreed to the contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 1 hour ago, WendyAndMilo said: In my state it is a legal requirement that if the seller is behind on anything from property taxes to irrigation water, the buyer brings everything up to date. But your agent/title company should have informed you of everything that the costs entail. Property taxes are usually paid in arrears, so they would not be considered "behind". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I would have expected your realtor to make sure that you understood that. That seems like failing on their part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I have never heard of property taxes being included in closing costs. Every time we've sold houses, closing costs and taxes are two separate items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martha in GA Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 I would think, as mentioned above, that the property taxes would be prorated. Now you have me concerned because my ds is getting ready to close on a house and he is paying all closing costs and...his real estate agent seems to be working for the sellers 🈴️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 2 hours ago, Martha in GA said: I would think, as mentioned above, that the property taxes would be prorated. Now you have me concerned because my ds is getting ready to close on a house and he is paying all closing costs and...his real estate agent seems to be working for the sellers 🈴️ Unless he specifically contracted with the real estate agent as a buyer's agent, then yes the agent is working for the seller. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 All of the costs should have been spelled out before you signed any papers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyLady Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 When we bought our home (several homes ago) we received a tax bill for the previous year about a month after we closed on the house. We sent the tax bill to our realtor and she was able to make some magic and either the previous owner or the title company (whose job it is to make sure there is nothing owed on the house when you buy it - that it has a clean title) paid it. We did not feel it was right for us to pay taxes for an entire year before we moved in, just because the tax bill wasn’t delivered until right after we moved in... I would be extremely upset if I had to pay those taxes as closing costs - that doesn’t seem like closings costs to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 6 hours ago, lovinmyboys said: They aren’t really behind on the taxes-it is just the amount they owe from January-May of this year. Our realtor is looking into it. I feel like that is money owed at closing, but isn’t really a cost of closing. I don’t know if it matters what I think though. Is this what is called a "Supplemental Tax Bill?" We will get one of those but it's only a few hundred. Either you bought a much, much more expensive house or taxes are even higher than in CA. We don't pay it at time of closing but the bill will arrive in the next two months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Can you roll the closing costs into the loan? I was offered that option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martha in GA Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Quote Unless he specifically contracted with the real estate agent as a buyer's agent, then yes the agent is working for the seller. Yes, he specifically contracted with the agent as a buyer's agent, but I think the agent is doing a terrible job advising and working for my son. I was livid when I saw that the sellers had actually signed the initial offer before my son had even read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 That's weird... I would never expect unpaid home bills to be part of closing costs. But thank you for starting this thread because it reminded me to pay our property tax which is coming due! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 3 hours ago, Martha in GA said: Yes, he specifically contracted with the agent as a buyer's agent, but I think the agent is doing a terrible job advising and working for my son. I was livid when I saw that the sellers had actually signed the initial offer before my son had even read it! ?? When we made an offer on our house, we sent a signed offer. If the buyer had signed it, it would become valid. Otherwise the buyer made a counteroffer and sent that to US Signed. If we signed it, it became a valid offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Prorated taxes and other things like a water meter if needed are all part of what is due at the closing table. In my experience anyway, in two different states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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