Have you found yourself in a situation where you are behind on your taxes in Syracuse NY and are now in search of a way pay off this debt so you do not lose your home?
This is a situation that occurs within many households due to the fact that the state of New York and several counties within the state carry a significant amount of property tax.
Many homeowners decide to not escrow there taxes with their mortgage, leaving the taxes to be paid at the beginning/end of the year.
This can become a problem because if towards the end of the year, you find yourself in any type of financial trouble, you may elect to hold off on your tax payment and choose to pay off other debts.
When homeowners in Syracuse NY fail to pay their property tax, the local municipality can decide to place a lien on the property. This will be the first notification of the initiation of the foreclosure process on your property. This lien placed on the property means that when you do go to sell your property, these taxes must be paid off at closing to continue with the sale.
Typically in Syracuse NY, you will be able to accumulate 3 total years worth of delinquent taxes before the foreclosure process will be finalized and you will be stripped of your home and take a severe credit hit.
So, what actions can you take to hold off your home going to auction due to unpaid property taxes in Syracuse NY?
What Are My Options When It Comes To Receiving Assistance For Unpaid Property Taxes in Syracuse NY?
There are a few different options when it comes to receiving assistance for unpaid or delinquent property taxes on your home. For all of the options that we discuss today, we sincerely suggest that you act immediately. Once you are aware that you will be unable to pay your taxes or you do not choose to pay your taxes and feel that this may become a lingering issue, you must contact your local municipality and explain your current situation.
1) Challenge local government, town or city hall on property tax bill
If you are under the impression that your property/ home is over assessed, something that we suggest to do early on in the process is to contest your home assessment. This will allow you to lower your current property tax bill and possibly allow you to now afford the payments.
According to our state tax and finance department "If you own property in New York State, you are eligible for formal review of your assessment.
There are two levels of formal review:
Administrative review - the "grievance" process is conducted at the municipal level
Judicial review:
In order to pursue judicial review you must first go through administrative review includes two options:
Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) - a low-cost option available to most homeowners;
Tax certiorari proceedings in State Supreme Court - to pursue this option, you should contact an attorney."
If you would like to challenge your assessment, head over to the Department of Taxation and Finance.
2) Installment Payments
As stated before, if you understand and know that you will be unable to make your tax payments, you need to act before you become delinquent. Once you become delinquent, you do not have many options.
One of your options when you do become delinquent and miss your payments is to set up a installment payment plan with Onondaga county. This agreement comes with specific rules and guidelines that you must abide by in order to enroll and stay in this program. In order to get into this program, you must put down 25% of the current taxes that are owed on the property. For more information on the Onondaga county installment payment plan for delinquent properties please see the document below.
3) Pay In Full
As we stated previously, once you have become delinquent, you have limited options. The last option that Onondaga County offers is a payment in full. As we all know, the longer you fail to pay your taxes, the more interest that will accrue over this period of time. This makes it much harder to actually come up with the money to act on this offer. However, this is an option and if you can come up with the money, the city or your local municipality will allow you to repay these taxes plus interest all the up to the day of foreclosure and your auction date. This time period can differ but assume that you will have about 3 years in total to make this payment.
4) Sell Your Home
Selling your property before you go to auction is always an option. If you are able to find a buyer that will assume and pay off all of your taxes (lien) at closing, you will then be relieved of this debt. The issue that can arise with selling your home with a lien on it due to delinquent taxes in Syracuse NY is that if the sell off of your mortgage total and your tax debt is more than your buyer wants to pay, you will have trouble selling your house.
If you wait to long to try and sell your house, this can be an issue also. A typical house sells in about 6 months from sale listing to closing when selling to a home buyer who is using bank financing to purchase. This means that even though you may have the property under contract to sell, the city of Syracuse (Onondaga County) or your local municipality can still foreclose on the property for the taxes that they are owed.
5) Sell Home To Cash Buyer
If you find yourself where you are in a position where you only have a couple months (1-6) to sell your property, your only option will be to sell your property to a cash buyer. The reason for this is because when you use cash to purchase a property, you will be able to close in as little as 14 days. This will allow you to avoid the foreclosure process and you will not have to take the dreaded credit hit that will effect you for years to come.
Wrapping Up |Options when it comes to paying delinquent Syracuse Property Taxes
So I hope that out of all the options that we have spoke about today, you understand that the best way to attack unpaid property taxes in Syracuse NY will be to be proactive and act immediately. When you are under the impression that you will not be able to make these payments and you will begin missing payments, we suggest that you contact your local municipality right away to see what kind of options they have for you. Once you become delinquent, you have far less options.
We want you to focus on with picking an option that will allow you to avoid foreclosure. Foreclosures can effect your credit score for several years and impact your life for the same amount of time.
We offer a service here in Syracuse NY and surrounding areas that was created for homeowners who find themselves in this exact situation. If you approaching foreclosure and you are looking for an option, we have one for you. We purchase properties in cash, can close in 14 days and will work around your schedule to help you either find a new place or relocate your belongings. This will allow you to avoid all of your unpaid taxes, pay them off and still walk away with a profit on the sale of your house. If this is an option that you would like to learn more about, just click on the link below.
HS Property Funds
Funds to Help, Problems to Solve
(315)516-8023
www.hspropertyfunds.com