What if tax bill increases just after closing?

[Brandon Lockard]

So I closed on a property July 18th. On August 5th I get a call from the mortgage servicing company that they went to pay the taxes on the property and there is a discrepancy of nearly $600 and that I should visit the tax assessors office to see what's going on. I did and it turns out the property was recently revalued and increased significantly.  A notice was sent out (to the seller) earlier in the year informing them of the revaluation and the process to dispute it.  It was not disputed and now the window for doing so has passed.  So the taxes due for this year are significantly higher as a result.  Apparently, the new tax bill came out on July 24th, 6 days after closing.  The attorney used last years tax bill to calculate the settlement.  As a result, I seem to be on the hook to pay the additional taxes even though they should have be pro-rated.  Do I have any recourse here?  Should I just pay the difference and chalk it up as a valuable lesson learned?

[Brian Corbett]

Unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about it.  Some counties will allow you to appeal the tax assessed value with no guarantee of an adjustment.  A good tip here would be to contact your tax assessors office prior to closing to find out when the next assessment is scheduled to occur.