Montgomery County Trying To Fight Foreclosures Through New Bill

December 10th, 2007

Council Member Phil Andrew in an interview to The Examiner said, “It is crucial that homebuyers know what the property tax liability will be when they buy a house so they can make an informed decision about whether they can afford to buy and stay in the home.” Andrew believes that only this measure could be a tool to help the county fight skyrocketing foreclosure rates. The county in question is the Montgomery County, although this measure has been able to satisfy the real estate lobbyists. They are not attuned to the idea of requirement of the home sellers to disclose to potential buyers what they would pay in property taxes.

It is of Andrews’s firm belief that property taxes often jump after a home is sold because the sellers have been benefiting from state property tax caps which prohibit more than a 10 percent increase per year unless a home changes ownership.

According to a recent report from the governor’s home foreclosure task force, “Montgomery County foreclosures are up nearly 1,700 percent in the second quarter of 2007 from the same period in 2006.” There was a vast difference in the number of foreclosures in 2006 as compared to 2007. In 2007 the county had 605 foreclosures between April and June while it had 34 during those same months in 2006.

There is a tendency to believe that in the coming months the realtors would be held responsible for any miscalculations that might occur for future property taxes. This is a concern that has been expressed by the officials from the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors.

The reason that Phil Andrews gives for amendment of the bill is to remove this concern.

“I met with them in September to hear what they had to say, and I addressed some of their concerns in amendments,” Andrews said.

Meredith Weisel, a lobbyist for the Realtor association, expresses her concern about the implementation of the amendment.

According to Weisel, “It is not easy to calculate the post-purchase property taxes.”

Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg said, “Several of us on council have tried the form, including myself.” He believes that those who used it could make good sense of how the new tax bill would take shape. He does not think that it will be confusing or difficult and he urges people to understand what it is trying to imply so that people have a sense of what they will be paying.