What we take on when the back taxes have piled up
Owing back taxes on a house is one of those things people carry privately, and almost everybody who calls us about it expects to be judged for it. Nobody here is going to do that. The most common misunderstanding is that the arrears have to be cleared before a sale can happen, and they do not. They are settled out of the purchase price at closing.
We buy Bethpage houses with years of arrears against them. The first thing we will help you do is get the current figure from the county, because interest moves it and an old bill understates what is owed. From there the arithmetic is straightforward, and we will show you all of it rather than handing you a number and asking you to trust it.
Where the money to clear the back taxes actually comes from
The back taxes are settled out of the purchase price at closing, handled by the attorneys on both sides. You do not need to find the money first.
Plenty of people delay selling for exactly that reason and lose more equity to accruing interest while they try to save up. If the house is worth more than everything recorded against it, the arrears become a line on the closing statement rather than a bill you have to pay in advance.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A four-bedroom on Henry Street. In Bethpage, bought and paid for by us.
Bethpage is roughly 16,658 people in Nassau County, ZIP 11714, and the housing stock is mostly cape cod, ranch, hi-ranch. Around Hempstead Turnpike and Stewart Avenue, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Bethpage stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We have been buying across Nassau County for 15+ years. We know what the Bethpage Union Free School District does to a resale price, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what a house like yours is actually worth here.
How Nassau County handles back taxes
Delinquent property taxes in Nassau County accrue interest and eventually lead to enforcement, so the current figure is worth getting from the county directly rather than working from an old bill.
The practical point is that back taxes are not static. They grow, and the enforcement steps that follow run on a schedule that does not care whether anyone opened the mail. Knowing where a Bethpage property stands on that schedule is the single most useful thing you can find out this week, and one phone call usually establishes it.
When the delinquent tax lien has already been sold
Back taxes that have reached the lien-sale stage are a different situation from arrears still sitting quietly with the county. There can be redemption periods and added costs involved, and none of that is something to take from a web page. Ask an attorney what applies to your specific case.
We have bought houses at this stage before. What we need from you is the honest position rather than a tidy one, because we would rather work with the real facts from day one.
What the two paths cost in Bethpage
These are the two routes open to you with a house with back taxes, priced against what Bethpage houses actually sell for.
Work it against Bethpage's own numbers. The median sale here is $759,611. A 5% commission on that is $37,981, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $15,192. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $53,173 gone before anyone counts the repairs it took to get the house listable.
There are two waits in a listed sale and people usually only count the first. In Bethpage the median house takes about 30 days to go from listed to a signed contract. Then it waits again, typically 45 to 60 days, while the buyer's lender orders an appraisal and underwrites the loan. Call it 75 to 90 days from sign to keys, assuming nothing goes wrong.
The part worth understanding is what a signed contract actually guarantees, which is less than most sellers assume. A retail buyer with a mortgage contingency can walk away right up to the end. If they do not qualify, if the appraisal comes in under the price, if they change their mind and let the financing lapse. A share of deals die exactly there, after months of waiting, and the house goes back on the market with time on it. We are not borrowing anything, so there is no lender to satisfy, no appraisal to come in low and no contingency to exercise.
| Listing with an agent | Selling to us | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $759,611 (Bethpage median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$37,981 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$15,192 | We can cover them |
| Repairs before listing | Out of pocket | None |
| Cleanout | Yours | Ours |
| Showings | Until it sells | One visit |
| Listed to signed contract | 30 days (Bethpage median, once listable) | 24 hours to a written offer |
| Contract to closing | 45 to 60 days (waiting on the buyer's lender) | A date you choose |
| Total wait | 75 to 90 days if nothing falls through | Yours to set |
| Can the buyer walk? | Yes (mortgage contingency runs to the end) | No financing to fall through |
| Before repairs and carrying | $706,438 | The number we put in writing |
The agent column uses a 5% commission and about 2% of seller closing costs, which are typical rather than fixed. It leaves out repairs and holding costs because no two houses are alike there. Where a house is in good condition, listing with a capable agent can beat our number, and we will be upfront if that is the case.
What waiting costs when back taxes are accruing
The quiet thing about arrears is that there is no single alarming day. The balance grows steadily, and because nothing dramatic happens this month, nothing gets decided this month either.
By the time something dramatic does happen, a good deal of the equity has already been consumed. If there is real value in the house today, protecting it is mostly a question of acting while the number is still the smaller one.
What you do not pay when you sell a house with back taxes
Listing a house with back taxes the usual way brings each of these costs with it. Selling to us brings none of them.
- Agent commission
- $37,981 at 5% of the Bethpage median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $15,192 on a $759,611 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever it takes to make it listable, paid in advance none
- Cleanout and removal
- Dumpsters or haulers by the load, ahead of any viewing none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities across the 75 to 90 days it takes to find a buyer and then wait on their lender none
When selling is not the right answer for a Bethpage owner
Sometimes the total owed against a house, back taxes included, sits close to or above what the property will realistically fetch. We will say so early rather than after two months of title work.
That is not the end of the conversation. There are payment arrangements, hardship programs, and attorneys who handle tax matters every day, and we know who to send you to. Nobody gets turned away at that point, and the conversation has never cost anyone anything.
Common questions
How do I find out what back taxes I owe on my Bethpage house?
The county is the only reliable source for the current back taxes figure on a Bethpage property. Request it in writing, and if you are not sure which office to ask, tell us and we will point you at the right one.
Can you buy a Bethpage house with years of back taxes on it?
Yes, provided the total owed still leaves a workable number. We will show you the arithmetic rather than just quoting you a figure and hoping you accept it.
Do I have to pay the back taxes off before closing?
No. The back taxes are settled from the purchase price at closing by the attorneys, and the house transfers clean. Paying out of pocket first is usually unnecessary.
What happens to the back taxes if I do nothing?
The balance keeps growing, and the options tend to narrow as it does. Ask an attorney what stage a Bethpage property has reached. We can recommend somebody if you do not already have counsel.
Will I have anything left after the back taxes are paid at closing?
Often yes, and sometimes no. Get the written figures for the back taxes and the mortgage payoff first, because everything else is guesswork until those two numbers exist.