How to research delinquent property taxes

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Researching a mortgage is one good way you or your buyer agent can learn about a seller's position prior to making an offer. Another good research item you can pursue as a buyer is to take a look at whether or not the seller has fallen behind on his property tax payments. Why is this important? Because a seller will need to pay off any delinquent taxes before or at the time of closing before the property can change hands. Checking for delinquent property taxes is easy to do and takes only a few minutes. Here's how you do it: Go to Access Dane. Select Public Access. Select Parcel Information. Select Query by Parcel Address. Enter the Address Number and Street Name and click Search. A property information page will appear, including a section on taxes that looks like this: Note that Access Dane has flagged the above property as having delinquent property taxes. To find out how much the seller owes in back taxes (including penalties and interest), all you or your buyer agent need to do is send an email to the Treasurer's Office. The Treasurer's Office will return your email with an itemization of how much the seller owes in back taxes, penalties and interest. More great information to have as you prepare for your offer. Related articles Eight key questions How to research foreclosures How to research a home's listing history How to research a seller's mortgage About us This information is provided courtesy of Dan Miller and Shawn Kriewaldt of Keller Williams Realty and DaneCountyMarket.com. For more information, please contact Dan at 608-852-7071 (danielmiller@kw.com) or Shawn at 608-212-5743 (shawnkriewaldt@kw.com). Don't forget: if you're buying or selling, whether your timeline is 3 months or 3 years, we can help. Track the market and search for Real Estate You can receive our articles and monthly updates via email. Just go to our newsletter sign-up, enter your email address, and select your topic(s) of interest. Our real estate search tools are easy-to-use. Learn how you can simplify your search by saving your search settings, receiving email updates, and tracking your own list of "favorite" properties.  Search for South Central Wisconsin Real Estate Now Email this article to a friend: Email To: Email From: Name of Sender: Optional Message: Please enter the numbers/characters in the picture for verification *  Back