Zillow Advice: Buying Process - Newcomer to the housing market, I'm wondering how to find out about ALL taxes on a property. Advice?

Checking county websites ...

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:36:00 GMT

Checking county websites for tax info is a good start, but the question of "hidden liabilities" is not always easy to answer. Local jurisdictions can put special assessments on neighborhoods, also known as LIDs (Local Improvement Distrcits). Sometimes these assessments exist to pay for long-term imrpovements to local areas, for sewer upgrades or traffic lights, etc.

The assessments may exist without showing up on an assessor's website because they aren't necessarily considered property taxes.

In many cases it would require a complete title search by a title company to dig these up.

steprestes - Every homeowner ...

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:30:00 GMT

steprestes -

Every homeowner pays property tax annually to the local tax assessor. This tax is typically paid to the local gov. on your behalf by your mortgage processor - you just get a statement reflecting the amount from the assessor once a year but you can elect to make the payment yourself. Property taxes are public information and an important component to research when buying a home. You'll find the tax assessment history for most homes on Zillow on their "Zestimate and Charts" page - scroll down to the tax section&enter the captcha to view it. Else, your county assessor/appraiser should have a website where you can look them up.

Sunny and none444 - Thank you! You guys rock!

Pamela and Sam - I'm embarrassed for you. Your responses are nothing but thinly veiled Spam. If you cannot help and have no advice to give, please do not post. "contact me" is not the way to build a reputation online that will send you business. I highly recommend getting to a RE Bar Camp conference sometime to learn the skills of soft selling.

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Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:48:00 GMT

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GO TO THE TRESURE DEPT. TYPE ...

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:08:00 GMT

GO TO THE TRESURE DEPT. TYPE IN PARCEL NUMBER AND ADRESS IN ANY STATE YOU WISH TO LIVE AND IT WILL TELL IF BACK TAXES ARE OWED .OR GO TO INTELLOUS AND LOOK UP PROPERTY AND PAY 24.95 AND IT WILL GIVE YOU ALL LIENS ALL JUDGEMENS AND PROPERTY VALUE..

Many places have that info ...

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:56:00 GMT

Many places have that info available online. Here is the link to Detriot's tax office where you can look much of it up yourself. Escrow companies also have that info available as do RE agents.

Don't try to do it all yourself. ...

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:33:00 GMT

Don't try to do it all yourself. A buyer's agent will do all of this work for you, free of charge. Of course, they want to sell you a home, but it's their job to research this information for you. Don't reinvent the wheel, let the pros do their job.