Faked real prop tax to sell home Can you do anything now ?

Question

I was told and shown that taxes on the home I bought was 3,926. Now I find out the former owner, real estate, lawyer lied and the taxes are 5,000 I would have not purchased the home if I had known. Anything I can do so that these people don't keep doing this to others. Do I have a legal case of fraud.

Thanks

Answer 1

It is possible that he was billed the $3,926 as he showed you, based on the assessment by the state/county offices in your area. Each time a property is sold, the value changes and taxes are adjusted according to sale price/value of the property.
The people who owned my home paid $1800 a year and I pay $4000 because they had bought the house for $140,000 and I paid $320,000.
I do not believe the seller defrauded you. You simply need to know what the tax RATE was, not the actual bill, and multiply it times the value.
If you have a dispute with the calculation, contact the taxing authority who is billing you and ask them why the difference, and they will probably tell you the same thing I just did,

Answer 2

No, you have no case. It's entirely probable that their tax bill was only $3,926 yet yours is $5,000 for the same property. Many tax authorities automatically reset the FMV of a property when it is sold, since the sales price is an accurate reflection of the value of the property.

I recently sold a property in TX and the seller rose a stink when they got their new tax bill. My tax bill for 2005 was $2,800 but was based on a value of $83,000. The county adjusted the value to the sales price of $106,000. Their 2006 bill was for over $3,600 due to the re-valuation of the property following the sale.

This happens ALL the time. There is no collusion involved and no case for you to pursue.

If you feel that the tax bill is too high you can always appeal it. But if they based the value on the sales price there's little chance that you'll get any relief there.