In several cases homeowners will pay their taxes through escrow along with their principal and interest payments from their mortgage.
However, some homeowners choose to pay their taxes separate from their mortgage payment.
We all know in life, at one point or another we are faced with financial difficulties, whether that is from job a loss, parent’s death, divorce, demotion along with any number of things.
When these economic difficulties transpire, homeowners may decide to stop paying their taxes.
The city of Syracuse tax authority, could sell your home to satisfy the debt. (through a foreclosure process)
The tax authority could sell your lien and the purchaser will then be able to foreclosure
Either way unpaid taxes over a certain duration (typically 3 years) will result in the loss of your home and a foreclosure on your credit score.
What Happens When You Have Delinquent Property Taxes in Syracuse NY?
Here is a brief guideline for how a tax foreclosure is supposed to work in the state of New York.
When you fail to pay your delinquent taxes (accrued taxes, interest, penalties, and additional costs), this delinquent amount will become a lien on the property. The taxing authority then has the privileged to recoup these delinquent taxes through the foreclosure process or selling of the lien.
At this point you will be able to respond to the lawsuit by filing an answer that lists all of your objections to the case. If you fail to respond, the court will enter a default judgement against the property.
A default judgement means that you will automatically lose the law suit since you failed to reply to the lawsuit.
If you fail to pay your property taxes and have delinquent taxes on your real property, the first step the city will take is to issue a tax warrant.
A tax warrant is a legal action against you and creates a lien against your real and personal property.
This warrant will be recorded as public record stating that you owe taxes to New York State.
They then have the right to collect your debt through a levy, income execution and seizure and sale of the property.
At this point you will either be able to pay your bill in full or you can set up a repayment plan to get caught up.
The officer of authority has the right to initiate the foreclosure process by filing a petition with the court.
In order for the foreclosure process to begin, the foreclosing party (Syracuse City) must publish notice of the foreclosure in the newspaper and mail you a notice, stating the foreclosure process has started.
Redemption Period to Regain Property Before or After Sale
In the state of New York, you get some time to save your home from a tax foreclosure. The only way to gain control back of your property will be to pay all of your delinquent taxes and other charges or set up a repayment plan to make payments over time.
Typically this redemption period will expire two years after the lien date. In some cases, our local law may provide a longer redemption period. (Here is some more information on getting your home back after a property tax sale in New York)
To put this in perspective for you, the redemption period will typically expire about 3 months after the foreclosure proceedings have begun.
Wrapping Up | Delinquent Property Taxes in Syracuse NY
A tax foreclosure is treated very similar to a bank foreclosure. If you fail to make payments on your taxes or mortgage, these authorities will issue you notices to make you aware of where you stand and when the foreclosure process will begin. What we want to avoid in this situation is having a foreclosure on our credit score. As we discussed we can make necessary payments or another alternative will be to sell your property prior to the tax sale. In this situation you will be looking for a cash buyer / real estate investment firm to be able to purchase your home and close on your property before the final foreclosure date.
If you are looking for a trustworthy, honest real estate investment firm who makes fair no obligation cash offers, you can click the link below to learn more about how the process works.
HS Property Funds
Funds to Help, Problems to Solve
(315)516-8023
www.hspropertyfunds.com