They want assurance that the buyer can complete the purchase and that their property will not be tied up indefinitely. Can a Massachusetts broker share a fee with a real estate professional in a country where licensure is not required?Generally, the withholding agent is the person responsible for closing the real estate transaction (e.g. After the sale is final, many homeowners use escrow accounts to manage their ongoing property taxes. Use this Massachusetts Real Estate Tax Guide to help you better understand all of your state's specific requirements for real estate taxes. You and the seller each are considered to have paid your own share of the taxes, even if one or the other paid the entire amount. Remember that this bill is an addition to the previous bill, which may have been either just land or land and partial building. Please note that mortgage companies typically make tax payments from your escrow account a month before the tax due date in order to pay your taxes on time. Fannie Mae advocates the establishment of an escrow account for the payment of taxes and insurance, particularly for borrowers with blemished credit histories. If it is a capital asset, forfeiture of a deposit would be treated as capital gain to the seller and capital loss to the prospective buyer.