Delinquent Real Estate, who pays taxes on closing?

[Akshay Wattal]

Hi folks.

If a property is a delinquent real estate, meaning there are overdue property taxes that have not been paid by the seller for the last couple of years, who is responsible for paying those taxes at closing, the seller or the buyer? Any risks here? 

Thanks

-Ak

[Jeff Copeland]

It depends on what the contract says. 

It is customary for the seller to pay the property taxes up through the previous year, and then the taxes for the year of closing are prorated. 

But this can be negotiated different ways. The buyer could offer to pay these to sweeten the deal, or raise the purchase price accordingly to cover the cost of the back taxes.