Late Property Taxes in Oklahoma

Property taxes are no joke. If you don’t pay them, the city will eventually sell your house at auction for an extremely low amount. If you have multiple years of unpaid property taxes, the city will take possession of your house and sell it in the tax auction with the starting bid being what they are owed in taxes. This usually means your house gets sold for a fraction of the value.

No one wants that. Obviously that is the extreme outcome though and most people don’t end up there. If you are behind on property taxes in Oklahoma, we want to share with you some vital information to prevent your house from being sold at the tax auction.

Here are the must-know facts about late property taxes in Oklahoma:

You CAN sell your house even it if is behind in property taxes

As a company that buys houses from people all across Oklahoma, we have bought many houses that had late property taxes from folks over the years. The late property taxes will have to be paid off at closing usually but that isn’t an issue as we pay those for you at closing. Some people think that they have to pay the late property taxes before they even try to sell their home. This isn’t true.

Late property taxes come with interest!

If you fail to pay your property taxes by the deadline date, the city won’t let you get off without a penalty. Each month you are late, the city will add some interest charges to the amount you owe. If the balance remains unpaid, the interest keeps growing. It isn’t a high interest rate, but if you don’t pay your property taxes for months or years, it adds up.

The dreaded Tax Auction

Every year in the middle of June, the city gathers up all the houses with unpaid and outstanding property taxes for the previous 3 years. They then auction these properties off to get their tax money. If you own one of these homes, you need to pay at least 1 year of the late property taxes in order to prevent your house from being sold off. The county puts out a list each year of all the properties that are scheduled to be auctioned on their website here.

How do I see what taxes and city liens are against my house?

The county treasurer has an online portal where you can search for your property to see any unpaid property taxes or city liens. City liens are when the city has to come out and mow your lawn, tear down a really run-down building, or secure a run-down building after you have been notified and warned. For example, if your grass is really tall, this is against the city rules. They will give you a warning, then they will come mow your lawn for around $300. You can check your unpaid taxes and city liens here.

Hopefully these tips and facts will help you understand how late property taxes work in Oklahoma. We have seen folks not pay their property taxes and wake up one morning to find the new owner knocking on their door with an eviction notice. No one wants to be in that spot. If you are behind on property taxes and want to sell your home before you get in too big of a hole, call us today @ 405-673-4901. 

We have bought many, many houses from people over the years that were behind on taxes. Not only do we pay your late property taxes, you also don’t have to make any repairs, don’t have to do any cleaning, and won’t pay a dime in closing costs, fees, or commissions when you sell. We make it EASY to sell your home. If you’d like to see what we can offer, fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch within 24 hours!