What about
Property Taxes?
The terms of your transaction and the
resultant escrow instructions determine how the property taxes will
be handled. If there is no mention of the proration of taxes, your
escrow officer will not deal with any credits or charges for prorated
taxes.
However, if your escrow calls for a
proration of taxes, there will be an item in your closing statement
that will reflect either a credit or charge to your account. If
the taxes are not paid (even though there has been a credit or charge
against your account), the buyer is obligated to obtain a tax bill,
and pay the taxes. If the buyer does not have a tax bill with which
to pay the taxes, you can request a bill from the Tax Collector
(send a photocopy of the deed).
Supplemental Property Taxes is another
concern of the buyer. Upon the transfer of real property, the County
Assessor will request information about the property from the buyer.
This information assists the Assessor in determining the value of
the property for taxation purposes. Some of the information may
have previously been supplied by the escrow holder at the time of
the closing of the escrow via Preliminary Change of Ownership form
that should accompany each deed when it is recorded.
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