New House Question?

Question

We just bought a house(not newly built, just new to us) and at the closing they said to take the paperwork to our Township's Assessors office to get some kind of credit. What is this and will it save us money?

Answer 1

I think you gave more info than most questions on here, but anyway.
What the closer was refering to was, as mentioned above, filing for exemptions. Most states/counties have exemptions, some have them for homesteads, having a mortgage on the property, being over a certain age, being under a certain age, being a veteran, moving inside the city limits, living in a historical house, you name it.
For most places, these exemptions are automatically taken off the property when it is sold. You, as the new owner, need to file for the exemptions again. By filing, you will lower your property taxes. Depending on whether you escrow or not, this would lower either your monthly payment or your (semi-)annual payment to the county/township.

Answer 2

That's not enough information. Most peopel dont get credits from the assessor. The assessor is the person who assigns your house a value and collects property taxes. Is your house assessed too highly?

Answer 3

I agree that you have not given us enough info. In many places real estate taxes are lower on owner-occupied homes than on other types of real estate. Contact your county or township to see is this is the case and what you need to do to qualify. This is commonly known as a homeowner exemption.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Possibly they were talking about a Homestead Credit. In some places, you get a deduction in property taxes if you live in the home.

Answer 5

I had to do that...it was for a homestead credit.