If you buy subject-to, the only transfer tax due is on the equity the owner takes out of the house. If there's no equity, there's not tax. In any case, if you give them even 5k equity, you're responsible for whoping $7.50 in tax! The quote from Illinois Dept of Revenue is below:
"Effective January 1, 1968, a tax is imposed on the privilege of transferring a real estate title or a beneficial interest in a land trust in Illinois. If the property transferred remains subject to an existing mortgage, only the owner's equity (not the amount of the outstanding mortgage) is included in the base for computing the tax."
If you buy subject-to, the only transfer tax due is on the equity the owner takes out of the house. If there's no equity, there's not tax. In any case, if you give them even 5k equity, you're responsible for whoping $7.50 in tax! The quote from Illinois Dept of Revenue is below:
"Effective January 1, 1968, a tax is imposed on the privilege of transferring a real estate title or a beneficial interest in a land trust in Illinois. If the property transferred remains subject to an existing mortgage, only the owner's equity (not the amount of the outstanding mortgage) is included in the base for computing the tax."
The laws haven't changed since 1968.