Whose responsibility is it to pay the property tax on a land where new homes are to be constructed?

Question

Here is a scenario: A company decides to have newly constructed homes built on a land they own in January of 2006. A couple decides that they want to buy one of the homes that are to be built and signs an agreement of purchase that same month. The home is not constructed and they cannot close until December of 2006. So the couple can only have access to the home from December of 2006. Then February 2007 comes and the property tax bill for 2006 arrives. In your opinion, whose responsibility is it to pay that bill? and why? has anyone ever experienced this?

Answer 1

This should have all been sorted out during closing.

(You should have received a credit for Jan-Dec partial year when you made the purchase, so now you are responsible for paying the whole tax bill for the year.)

Answer 2

The property bill for 2006 is the responsibility of the entity that owned the property in 2006. In this case, the builder.

However...it is not practical for the county to send a tax bill to a prior owner, so here's how it usually works: On the settlement statement prepared when you bought the house, you should have recieved a prorated credit for the upcoming tax bill...you are credited back the amount of money equal to the seller's share of the 2006 taxes. This way you can pay the bill when it comes out with the money you saved on the purchase.

I should mention that this is true in Ohio, and I'm not familiar with all the states' laws on the subject.

Answer 3

The answer lies in the contract of sale. It should spell out the reponsibility for the tax payments. If it doesn't, then generally the taxes are due from the entity that holds the title on a specific day in time. For that day or to find out if your county pro-rates the whole year to any date, check with your local county assessor.

Accesibility (or lack thereof) does non nec. waive your obligations to pay the property tax.

If you received a tax bill, then somehow the county has you registered as the responsible party. Generally this only happens when deeds or similiar documents are recorded, so I strongly suspect that somehow title to the land/lot/parcel has changed hands or been assigned.

again, check you paperwork ... see what you signed.