Taxes WTF

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

I've been in Europe since middle of October and will be here till middle of November. However, my gf checked my mail and was told that I got a bill for a property tax for 2nd quarter.

This is especially strange since my taxes get paid with my mortgage (to my lender who) who is supposed to pay my taxes. Also, the form is postmarked on Oct 22 but the forms (including a residential exemption) is due on the 1st.

Seriously WTF - who sends tax forms that are due 9 days from the due date.

Since I'm not even going to be home for another 2 weeks is there a way to get an extension or something like that?

Comments

[m-b-w.livejournal.com]

Even if it is paid with your mortgage, the city will send you a bill. So, if you're SURE that yours is taken care of by your lender, don't worry about it.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

This. I always get a property-tax bill, and I always ignore it, and it gets taken care of by my mortgage lender.

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

same. ignore.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

As far as the taxes, the city sends a copy of my tax bill to me as well as to the bank holding the note on my house, and who pay the taxes out of escrow. So, I wouldn't worry about that. not sure about the exemption form, but that sounds like something that can be handled via fax and/or scanner if you've got someone here to work with. (I don't know if the city will take a faxed copy of the form.)

If this is the first tax bill you've gotten on the property, you might want to check with your lender to make sure they got a copy and that they're doing the right thing. Or you could just check your escrow account info on your next mortgage statement.

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

Even if it's not your first time, check that it's getting paid properly. They'll get it right several times, then make a mistake.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

I can't stand tax escrowing. My bank told me they paid the taxes directly to the city several weeks before the due date, when they'd actually paid it to some third-party tax processing company that sat on the money until just before the deadline. It would have made too much sense for the bank to tell their phone agents about this arrangement.

Banks require escrows because other banks require them when they buy mortgages. Sometimes they let you out of escrowing after a year or two, but they often charge a big fat fee to do so.

[wardv.livejournal.com]

Yeah, your property tax should be payed from the amount your lender escrows when you pay your mortgage.

I'm a little surprised your property tax bill came so late - mine came early October.

My lender insists that the city requires the *original* property tax bill in order to pay it. That is sent to me. I suppose the lender gets a copy. So, every quarter I get a reminder from the lender to send the original bill to them, which I do via mail...

[masswich.livejournal.com]

I've never had a problem with my taxes being paid except for my very first month in my first house. Generally, it goes smoothly and they've never wanted the original.

I'd recommend a 311 email asking for clarification, since you're overseas. If there is a problem and its late you'll probably just get some interest charges unless it starts to get months late - then they might threaten to take the house by tax title, but that takes a while.

I also have my mortgage company email me when they pay taxes so I know its taken care of. That usually happens a day or two before they are due.