Well all seems right with the world this week. Yep, the Yankees won the World Series in 6 games. Hideki Matsui walked away with the well deserved MVP award. 6 RBIs in one game. Wow, he sure came though for the Yankees. Congrats to the Joe Girardi and the team from this Abaco lady.
On a more serious note-
We agents in the real estate world have been seeing more and more cases when we sell a house that a lot of sellers are still paying property taxes on vacant property even though they may have built a home on it 10 years before. The sellers have failed to notify the property tax office that they improved their property. Some of them may even feel as if they can get away with this. When you receive a tax bill year after year for VACANT property, somewhere along the line you should realize that 'oh yes, I now have a house on this property and it's no longer vacant land'.
The government is crunching down more and more on these cases and carefully looking at the value on the tax bill that you have been billed for over the last x amount of years versus the sales price.
At one time if someone was in arrears on their taxes the seller's attorney would deducted the amount owed from the net proceeds of the sale. This put a crimp in the final proceeds coming into the sellers pocket, however it was one way to get the bill paid. And convenient if the seller did not have the financial means to pay the back taxes.
Now, the Foreign Investment Board is requiring that taxes are brought up to date BEFORE issuing a permit to a buyer and allowing the sale to move forward. This means that the amount owed for taxes cannot be taken out at the end of the sale but that the property taxes must be satisfied before they w
ill issue the permit. If a seller is not in a financial position to pay the back taxes this will cause the sale to come to a stand still.
To avoid any nasty surprises when it comes time to sell make sure you are paying the taxes you are supposed to be paying and that you are current on your tax bill. Your real estate agent or attorney will be able to point you in the right direction if you are unsure of how to go about this.
Remember this will help you avoid unnecessary delays when selling.
I have a great property in Bahama Palm Shores to tell you about. It's a vacant parcel in Section 3 and the owner is motivated to sell. Reflection of his motivation---He has reduced the price to $17,000. Email me for more details on this property.
Well there is a cool wind blowing over Abaco today and it sure feels nice. It's November so I say it's time for a little bit of winter. I hope where ever you are your weekend is a pleasant one.
Your Abaco Real Estate Agent
~Mailin Sands
mailin@coldwellbankerbahamas.com
