Hi Sarah,

Sounds like you have a very good understanding already of a question that always comes when purchasing real estate in Providence.

City Hall is the very best source for this information as everyone has suggested however, reading your question above (and reading between the lines), let me offer this:

I seriously doubt that you would be able to get a homestead exemption for the remainder of this year, so I would budget accordingly. My advice however, is to have your buyer's agent negotiate the taxes as part of your offer.

The reason you will not be able to get an exemption for this year is that while true that the exemption travels with the property, really is is that the exemption during the year of sale carries with the property AND the person the seller's status, not the PRIOR owner. It's complicated so let me use an example:

Say I purchased a multifamily on the East Side in September 2004 which I planned to owner occupy. The person I purchased the home from had moved to Mexico, so I was responsible for the non-owner through December 31st 2004. I filed the paperwork in January and got the homestead exemption. If I sold the house to a person who wanted to use the property for investment purposes in Sept 2006, then they would benefit from my having had the homestead exemption UNTIL December 31 2006 at which point their investor rate would apply. The homestead that I had would not just continue forward on and forever with the house. The City of Providence is way too smart for that!

So you get the idea.

Regardless, if you are planning to purchase this property, write you offer in a way that takes the taxes into consideration. Could you ask for the seller to contribute to the additional taxes? Could you make your offer lower based on the fact that you will have additional taxes to pay for this year? All real estate is negotiable and you can be quite creative in finding a solution. So don't let this short term issue deter you from your purchase if you wish to make it.

Below are the requirements for getting the homestead exemption from Providence City Hall:

HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION (Owner Occupied)
Qualifications and Requirements
Qualifications –To qualify, you must:
1. Own [(Be a natural person(s)) holding legal title] your residence (home) as of December 31st
2. Actually reside (live) in your residence from January 1st to December 31st
3. Be a permanent Providence resident as of December 31st

Best of luck to you!

C.C.Wall
Residential Properties

Hi Sarah,

City hall would without a doubt be your best source for an answer to your particular question. Just an FYI, most RI real estate are paid in arrears, so depeding on when you purchase your property you should get a credit at closing for the taxes that you will have to pay next year from the current owner living in the property this year. This is why you can't get a Homestead exemption this year.

Hope that helps.
Happy Hunting,
Chris

The listing agent should be able to find out from the seller. However, if it is a bank owned property that would not be the case. City hall can tell you what was paid on the property.

Hi Sarah,
The listing agent should be able to verify this with teh seller. More accurately City hall is the best source, they have the up to date information.
Please let me know if you need any further help.