Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois
Property tax misrepresentation at closing.
I purchased my home on 12/14/2001 from a man who is the builder/owner--and a friend. When we met at closing, the amount of $3062. was put on the settlement statement as a credit for me since that was the amount he felt he ''owed'' the county for his owning the property from 1/01/2001 through 12/14/2001.
Yesterday the property tax bill came in the mail and the amount was $4347. When I spoke with the county assesor he said one reason for the much higher bill was the fact that our house(&others in the neighborhood)was annexed into the city and thus our tax rate went up. My question: Does this increased tax liability of about $1200. need to be paid by the builder I bought the house from? He did, after all, own the property for 50/52 weeks this last year{the period of taxation in question}
Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Property tax misrepresentation at closing.
It depends on the agreement you entered into with the builder. Most purchase agreements state that the taxes are to be prorated at closing based on the most recently available information, and such proration will be considered final. Otherwise, we would basically have to re-close every transaction when the tax bills come out. Again, check your purchase agreement (or have your attorney check it) to see if there is any reference to tax prorations.
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