Property taxes

[emg]

My mom has gotten so far behind on her property taxes. I don't know all the details (cause I'm not that great of a son), but as far as I know, she owes about 6k for 2013, and 4K for 2014. The house and land are paid off. What are her options? When I had a house it was rolled into the payment. I just don't want to her to lose the house over ten grand.

Thanks to anybody leads me in the right direction.

[03mustangdude]

Pay it before any tax auction happens.

[LANTIRN]

I believe her options are to pay it off or loose it. I don't agree with continued property taxes, but that law isn't changing anytime soon. Tell her to stop breaking the law.

[03mustangdude]

You can get new taxes reduced if she's a senior citizen but current ones will still be due.

[SVT Lurch]

Which county?

[UserX]

I don't miss the property taxes in TX one bit, I only pay 1% here. And my taxes can never increase by more than 1% a year, no matter how much my house appreciates (which was 30% last year).

[emg]

Rockwall

[emg]

Pay it before any tax auction happens.

Me and my brothers plan on helping her out, but we don't have 10k to throw at it right now. I guess what I'm asking is can't she get on a payment plan or something like that to stop it from going to auction?

[AdRock]

Id be down at the bank getting a loan for the money by the end of the day.

Also a suggestion. Figure out what the taxes break down to in monthly payments for the year. Set up another checking account for her and have the monthly amount automatically pulled from one of her accounts and put into the new one. Pay the taxes out of that account every year.

[BP]

Every county is different but they all have to follow state law. They have to go through lots of legal paperwork before the property can be foreclosed on. However seeing as it's been two years they've probably already done all of it already.

If she's over 65, disabled or an actively deployed service member the taxes can be deferred. Otherwise I'd recommend you guys talk to a loan officer at a bank. You have collateral, it should be pretty easy to get a home equity loan to cover the taxes. Either that or she could sell it to one of you and roll the taxes into closing costs.

[SVT Lurch]

Failure to Pay


You have no legal right to withhold taxes or to put taxes in escrow to protest government spending or for any other reason. You must express your concerns in taxing unit budget hearings. You may, however, make a payment under protest, indicating so on the check or in a transmittal letter.
•You will have penalty and interest charges added to your taxes.
If taxes go delinquent, the tax collector adds a six percent penalty and one percent interest on Feb. 1. Penalty continues to accrue at one percent per month until July 1. On July 1, the penalty becomes 12 percent. Interest will be charged at the rate of one percent per month, with no maximum. Private attorneys hired by taxing units to collect delinquent accounts can charge an additional penalty of up to 20 percent to cover their fees.

•You will receive delinquent tax notices.
The tax collector will send you at least one notice that your taxes are delinquent. They often send additional notices and warnings.

•You may have the option to set up an installment plan.
Some tax collectors will allow you to pay delinquent taxes in installments for up to 36 months. They are not required to offer this option except on a residence homestead.

Before signing an installment agreement, you should know that the law considers your signature an “irrevocable admission” that you owe all the taxes covered by the agreement.

•You may be sued.
The tax collector’s last resort is to take a delinquent taxpayer to court. Court costs will be added to the delinquent tax bill.

Each person who owns taxable property on Jan. 1 is liable for all taxes due on the property for that year. A person who owned taxable property on Jan. 1 can be sued for delinquent taxes even if the property has been sold or transferred since then.

•You may face problems in selling your property.
Each taxing unit holds a tax lien on each item of taxable property. A tax lien automatically attaches to property on Jan. 1 each year to secure payment of all taxes. This tax lien gives the courts the power to foreclose on the lien and seize the property, even if its ownership has changed. The property then will be auctioned and the proceeds used to pay the taxes. As a result of the tax lien, someone who purchases real estate cannot obtain a clear title until all the delinquent taxes owed on the property are paid in full. If you are buying a portion of a larger parcel of land, check the taxes on the larger parcel. You will not be able to clear a tax lien against your part unless taxes

http://www.window.state.tx.us/propertytax/local-protest/remedies/paying-your-taxes.html

Rockwall Central
Appraisal District
841 Justin Road
Rockwall, TX 75087-4842

Metro: 972-771-2034
Toll Free: 1-877-438-5304
Fax: 972-771-6871

Business Hours
Monday - Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

You have collateral, it should be pretty easy to get a home equity loan to cover the taxes.

Those aren't the words I would use to describe it. No typical bank will want to lend money to someone who is demonstrating they can't manage their finances by being delinquent.

[mstng86]

That's a strong word, IMO. No typical bank will want to lend money to someone who is demonstrating they can't manage their finances by being delinquent.

I was thinking the same thing. One of the kids is going to have to take out the loan in their name, I bet.

[lakehighlands]

Good info posted by SVTLurch.

If your mother is over 65 years old or totally disabled, she can defer payment of current property taxes on her residential homestead until she no longer owns/occupies the home. Upon death/sale of the property, all taxes (included penalty and interest) must be paid within 180 days.

If she is not over 65 years old/totally disabled, she needs to contact the Rockwall county tax collector. She can set up a 36 month payment plan with the collector to get current on her taxes. If the installment plan is accepted by the tax collector, the property in question may not be seized and sold, nor can a suit be filed to collect the delinquent taxes unless there is a breach of the conditional agreement.

[War Machine]

If you wanna do a loan I can work something out. Shoot me a pm

[emg]

If you wanna do a loan I can work something out. Shoot me a pm

She won't get approved, never worked a real job in her life, been a house wife her whole life. When my dad past away, she lost her source of income. I'm going to talk to the rest of my siblings and see who wants to get a loan in their name.