So I got my Wake County property tax bill in the mail…..ok, so now what? (Raleigh: home owners insurance, mortgage)

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

I am a first time home owner and have been in my house just under 1 year. So I apologize in advance if this is a silly question.

When I pay my mortgage each month the payment I make to the mortgage company includes payment towards my property tax and home owners insurance which is held in an escrow account until the bills come due each year. I just got my tax bill in the mail. Does Wake County send a copy of the tax bill to my mortgage company as well or do I need to send a copy to them? I just want to be absolutely positive this bill gets paid on time. I hate the idea of relying on some faceless company paying my bills in a timely manner. It is a big deal to me, but what’s it to them if they forget? I worked really hard to have a great credit score and I always get paranoid when it comes to things like this. Can somebody fill me in on how this works. Does the annual payment of your homeowner’s insurance work the same way?

[lamishra]

We just got ours too. They do send you a bill, but your mortgage company should pay it. My slightly OCD husband always calls the mortgage company just to make sure they got it and the numbers match up and to confirm that they are going to pay.
We've never had a problem with them not doing it on time.

[bta]

Originally Posted by North_Raleigh_Guy

I am a first time home owner and have been in my house just under 1 year. So I apologize in advance if this is a silly question.

When I pay my mortgage each month the payment I make to the mortgage company includes payment towards my property tax and home owners insurance which is held in an escrow account until the bills come due each year. I just got my tax bill in the mail. Does Wake County send a copy of the tax bill to my mortgage company as well or do I need to send a copy to them? I just want to be absolutely positive this bill gets paid on time. I hate the idea of relying on some faceless company paying my bills in a timely manner. It is a big deal to me, but what’s it to them if they forget? I worked really hard to have a great credit score and I always get paranoid when it comes to things like this. Can somebody fill me in on how this works. Does the annual payment of your homeowner’s insurance work the same way?

When I called my mortgage company they said I needed to send them the bill and they gave me an address to send it to. I asked them to send me a confirmation once they received the bill - but haven't heard back yet. I'm going to give them a call soon to confirm.

I believe the mortgage company will typically wait until the very last day before penalties are assessed to pay your property tax bill. They do this to maximize the interest they make off your escrow account.

[Stu Barnes]

Originally Posted by North_Raleigh_Guy

I am a first time home owner and have been in my house just under 1 year. So I apologize in advance if this is a silly question.

When I pay my mortgage each month the payment I make to the mortgage company includes payment towards my property tax and home owners insurance which is held in an escrow account until the bills come due each year. I just got my tax bill in the mail. Does Wake County send a copy of the tax bill to my mortgage company as well or do I need to send a copy to them? I just want to be absolutely positive this bill gets paid on time. I hate the idea of relying on some faceless company paying my bills in a timely manner. It is a big deal to me, but what’s it to them if they forget? I worked really hard to have a great credit score and I always get paranoid when it comes to things like this. Can somebody fill me in on how this works. Does the annual payment of your homeowner’s insurance work the same way?

If you escrow your taxes and insurance, they will be paid by your lender...They do usually wait a while to pay, but never late (hopefully). I would call around mid December to verify it was paid because it will be late Jan. 5th...I think.....insurance same way....you will get a renewal thank you letter from your Ins. Co. confirming renewal...

[dvflyer]

Most likely, your mortgage company will pay this but you should call them to confirm.

Have you seen a Supplemental Tax Bill yet? In my experience, after buying a home, you receive a supplemental tax bill to adjust for the increase in value (assuming it's increased) from what the previous owner's value was.

The loan company may have put aside extra money (i.e. you paid it when you paid closing costs) to plan for this bill. Sometimes it's more sometimes it's less.

[findingmesomeday]

We have (had) the same deal in MA except property taxes are paid to the town, not the county. I would always call the mortgage company and ask for confirmation of date that they sent payment. I also would check in with the town and to see if the bill was paid. Our town has a website where you can pay your water/sewer bill online as well as property taxes and you can log into your account to check the status. So I would log in about 2 weeks out from deadline to make sure it was paid. We got quarterly tax bills, too! My mortgage company was late a few times and I did have to fight with them to get them to pay the late fee and not charge it back to us.

[saturnfan]

You can look up your property at the address below to verify if your Wake County tax bill was paid:

Wake County Property Tax Information - Tax Bill Search

[nynraleigh]

I would also look on your current mortgage statement to see what your escrow balance is, this way you know there is enough monies to cover that bill or in a few months when they pay it...I have and will be sending in extra monies towards escrow until end of year, because my current taxes until the end of the year are based on the land...this came up at closing and was like you don't have enough money escrowed for taxes come January...so I don't want a surprise from my mortgage company come end of year that there is not enough monies in escrow to pay the tax bill. Being a first time homeowner, I rather have too much than too little in the escrow account. Once the home is assessed, I will be clear on the taxes...I was given an approximate amount at closing what the taxes would be for 2008. I pray I am not overly surprised...If any experienced ones have advice, I would welcome it...

Originally Posted by North_Raleigh_Guy

I am a first time home owner and have been in my house just under 1 year. So I apologize in advance if this is a silly question.

When I pay my mortgage each month the payment I make to the mortgage company includes payment towards my property tax and home owners insurance which is held in an escrow account until the bills come due each year. I just got my tax bill in the mail. Does Wake County send a copy of the tax bill to my mortgage company as well or do I need to send a copy to them? I just want to be absolutely positive this bill gets paid on time. I hate the idea of relying on some faceless company paying my bills in a timely manner. It is a big deal to me, but what’s it to them if they forget? I worked really hard to have a great credit score and I always get paranoid when it comes to things like this. Can somebody fill me in on how this works. Does the annual payment of your homeowner’s insurance work the same way?

[OmegaBaby]

Mortgage companies pull the tax bill electronically from Wake County. That's how they know what to pay, and why you still receive a tax bill from the county.

[autumngal]

They won't always receive a tax bill before you do or even pull it before you receive your bill. You have to stay on top of this. And also when your taxes change, make sure the mortgage company is aware of the change,

Always phone your mortgage company and most times you can fax them the
tax bill information you received. Then call them back at the end of the day and make sure they received it.