New Jersey Salesperson State Practice Exam

Prorating at closing is a common practice in real estate transactions where certain costs are divided between the buyer and seller based on the time of the closing date. When property taxes have been prepaid by the seller, they have paid in advance for a period that extends beyond the closing date. Therefore, since the buyer will benefit from those prepaid amounts for the remaining portion of the tax cycle, a credit is issued to the seller during the closing process.

In this case, because property taxes are typically billed and paid in advance, the seller deserves a credit for the days that the buyer will occupy the property and benefit from the prepayment. This ensures fairness, as the buyer will ultimately be responsible for property taxes after closing, while the seller should recoup their paid but unconsumed tax portion.

Other items, such as accrued interest on an assumed mortgage or unearned rent collected in advance, typically result in the buyer receiving a credit or the seller owing an amount at closing, rather than providing a credit to the seller. Earnest money, meanwhile, is generally not prorated and serves as a deposit rather than a charge that would be split or prorated at closing. Thus, the prepayment of property taxes stands out as the item that aligns with

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