Paying property taxes is inevitable for homeowners. The amount each homeowner pays per year varies depending on local tax rates and a property’s assessed value (or a yearly estimate of a property’s market value). If you’re unsure of how and when you must pay real estate taxes, know that you might be paying them along with your monthly mortgage payments.
A financial advisor can help you put a financial plan together for your home buying goals.
Lenders often roll property taxes into borrowers’ monthly mortgage bills. While private lenders who offer conventional loans are usually not required to do that, the FHA requires all of its borrowers to pay taxes along with their monthly mortgage payments.
To determine how much property tax you pay each month, lenders calculate your annual property tax burden and divide that amount by 12. Since their numbers are estimates, some lenders require their borrowers to pay extra money each month in case the property tax payments come up short. If you end up paying more property taxes than you need to, you’ll receive a refund. If you underpay your property taxes, you’ll have to make an additional payment.
When you pay property taxes along with your mortgage payment, your lender deposits your property tax payment into an escrow (or impound) account. When your property taxes are due to the county, your lender uses the funds in that escrow account to pay the taxes on your behalf.
Both you and your lender should receive a notice from your local tax authority. If you don’t, it’s best to contact your lender and your tax authority to make sure your property taxes are being paid on time.
Including your property tax payments in your mortgage payments protects your lender. If a homeowner is forced into foreclosure, the lender will likely have to pay the remaining property tax amount. That’s why failing to pay property taxes is considered an event of default, allowing your lender to foreclose on your property.
While some homeowners would rather pay property taxes themselves, rolling your tax payment into your mortgage payment allows you to avoid shelling out large amounts of money to tax collectors once or twice a year. Some lenders might even offer to lower your interest rate when you choose to pay your property taxes through an escrow account. Besides, you’ll probably only be able to pay your own property taxes if your loan-to-value ratio is low (i.e., somewhere below 80%).
Once your mortgage is paid off, your lender won’t be collecting payments from you anymore. At that point, paying property taxes becomes your responsibility.
Sometimes lenders let their borrowers start paying their taxes directly before their mortgages are paid off. This might happen if you’ve paid down a significant portion of your principal loan balance.
If you’re looking to buy a home in the near future, you may need to speak with your potential lender about paying property taxes. Most likely, your taxes will be included in your monthly mortgage payments. While this may make your payments larger, it’ll allow you to avoid paying a thousand dollars (or more) in one sitting. And with your lender’s help, you can make sure that your property tax payments are made in full and on time.
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Lauren Perez, CEPF®Lauren Perez writes on a variety of personal finance topics for SmartAsset, with a special expertise in savings, banking and credit cards. She is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® (CEPF®) and a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Lauren has a degree in English from the University of Rochester where she focused on Language, Media and Communications. She is originally from Los Angeles. While prone to the occasional shopping spree, Lauren has been aware of the importance of money management and savings since she was young. Lauren loves being able to make credit card and retirement account recommendations to friends and family based on the hours of research she completes at SmartAsset.
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