Farmington Hills

In an effort to help out the home owners in our State that actually do have two homes, there is a new ruling that allows them to apply for a second home exemption for their property taxes. Obviously these homeowners are going to have to meet certain criteria; and, they are also going to have to apply for this exemption on a yearly basis as needed for up to three years.

This does not apply to the homeowners who choose to have a second home as a vacation home or investment property. If a homeowner has moved on and is not able to sell their previous principal residence, they can go to the City Hall and apply for this second home exemption. heir house has to be for sale and they cannot be renting it out. Also, they do have to apply for this exemption once every year; and, I do believe that they will be allowed to have it for up to three years as long as the same conditions apply.

Not only will this help these homeowners in their out of pocket property tax expenses; but, this also helps out with the resale of their homes. The fact that the tax exemption can stay in place, allows the new buyers to have the property tax relief right away upon the closing of their new home. Previously, the taxes would have gone up to the much higher amount (the non exemption amount) and the new buyer had to pay this higher amount through their first year of owning the home. This put more of a burden on the new buyers to have to pay more money for tax prorations and escrow accounts.

Buyers will definitely be more attracted to a property that has more manageable property taxes than one where they are going to encounter a higher tax burden for their first year of ownership. If you are in this two property situation, please apply for this second property tax exemption; and help yourself to getting your home sold.