Posted on: 30th Dec, 2008 07:46 pm
I have had the same mortgage company for 7 years. In 2006 they paid my property taxes late, causing me to incur delinquent taxes ever since. I have tried for two years to fix that to no avail. I phoned them yesterday and they said they never received a tax bill from the county, then they said the county told them I owed no tax! Riiiight. I called the county and they did send the mortgage company a bill last October but never got a payment from them.
Now, I get my annual escrow statement with a check attached for $3767.40, and discover they did not pay my property taxes at all last November! If they had paid them on time my tax bill would have been $3636.41, but now it is $3975! I deposited the check, paid the county $3636.41 and told my mortgage company they need to pay the rest out of their pocket.
The other weird thing is the statement shows a balance of $5247.67 in December and the next motnth (January 09) it shows a blance of zero! There is no entry for their check to me of $3767.40. There should be a balance of over $1480 after they sent me that check. What did they do with my money?
I faxed them a complete account of their mistakes and action required on their part. I have copies of all correspondence and fax confirmations for over two years. Are they puling a fast one here and to what agency do I report this if it is fraud? Thanks,
Jannie May
Now, I get my annual escrow statement with a check attached for $3767.40, and discover they did not pay my property taxes at all last November! If they had paid them on time my tax bill would have been $3636.41, but now it is $3975! I deposited the check, paid the county $3636.41 and told my mortgage company they need to pay the rest out of their pocket.
The other weird thing is the statement shows a balance of $5247.67 in December and the next motnth (January 09) it shows a blance of zero! There is no entry for their check to me of $3767.40. There should be a balance of over $1480 after they sent me that check. What did they do with my money?
I faxed them a complete account of their mistakes and action required on their part. I have copies of all correspondence and fax confirmations for over two years. Are they puling a fast one here and to what agency do I report this if it is fraud? Thanks,
Jannie May
Hi janniemay,
I guess, the mortgage company has not given you the correct details and they didn't even pay your taxes properly. In my opinion you should immediately consult an attorney. You have mentioned that you have all the correspondence and fax confirmations for over two years. You will have to show it to the attorney and he will be able to guide you in a proper way.
Thanks
I guess, the mortgage company has not given you the correct details and they didn't even pay your taxes properly. In my opinion you should immediately consult an attorney. You have mentioned that you have all the correspondence and fax confirmations for over two years. You will have to show it to the attorney and he will be able to guide you in a proper way.
Thanks
Hi janniemay,
It's good that you have kept the copies of all correspondences with the mortgage company. I think the company is up to some kind of fraud. Perhaps they won't even listen to you even though you show them the proof of your payments and the tax bill. It's better that you file a complaint with the State Attorney General. By the way, in which state do you reside?
It's good that you have kept the copies of all correspondences with the mortgage company. I think the company is up to some kind of fraud. Perhaps they won't even listen to you even though you show them the proof of your payments and the tax bill. It's better that you file a complaint with the State Attorney General. By the way, in which state do you reside?
I would also file a complaint with your State Attorney General if I were you. I would lean more towards incompetence of the mortgage company than fraud though.
Hi, i have a seven year old mortgage with Citi. When we closed, we voluntarily opted to escrow taxes and insurance.
The last two years, Citi has adjusted our payments up and then down to offset shortages. When we requested to be removed from the escrow ( and manage it ourselves) they refused, claiming that our LTV doesn't meet requirement. They are using the sale price of the home to determine LTV. The county reassessed our value by $73,000 (more) four years ago. Citi will not accept this figure. Does anyone know if this is legal? Thanks
The last two years, Citi has adjusted our payments up and then down to offset shortages. When we requested to be removed from the escrow ( and manage it ourselves) they refused, claiming that our LTV doesn't meet requirement. They are using the sale price of the home to determine LTV. The county reassessed our value by $73,000 (more) four years ago. Citi will not accept this figure. Does anyone know if this is legal? Thanks
Hi suzanne,
As far as I know, the lender usually utilizes the lesser of the appraised values. That's why I think they are using the sale price of the home to determine the LTV. However, I'm not sure whether they can force you to stick to the escrow on the ground that your LTV doesn't meet the desired requirement. I think you should consult an attorney as he can help you the best with this issue.
As far as I know, the lender usually utilizes the lesser of the appraised values. That's why I think they are using the sale price of the home to determine the LTV. However, I'm not sure whether they can force you to stick to the escrow on the ground that your LTV doesn't meet the desired requirement. I think you should consult an attorney as he can help you the best with this issue.
You will need an actual appraisal done. If you then meet the LTV requirement, they'll drop the escrow. No one is going to accept any value from 4 years ago.
When my daughter and her husband purchased their home about three years ago, they qualified for their payment on the basis of a PITI payment where the property tax being impounded was based upon a property value of $30K. A year ago, the mortgage company 'caught' the 'mistake,' (it's a Countrywide loan), and now the kids are being required to raise their monthly payments to make up for the deficit, and the amount of their monthly payments has finally raised by $200/mo. They cannot keep up with the new demand. They never would have qualified for the mortgage in the first place, had the monthly property tax been honestly determined in teh first place. What is their recourse?
Welcome melanieasummers,
I can understand that it's the fault of the mortgage company. However, if your daughter and her husband want to save the property, then they will have to come up with the money. In case, if they face difficulty in paying off the mortgage dues, they can apply for a loan modification with the lender.
I can understand that it's the fault of the mortgage company. However, if your daughter and her husband want to save the property, then they will have to come up with the money. In case, if they face difficulty in paying off the mortgage dues, they can apply for a loan modification with the lender.
my mortgage comp adjusted my taxes to .33 per mo last year now tell me they goofed and are doubbling my taxes this year. increese my payment 240.00 this year to get even. can they do tha?
Hi al,
The lender can increase your property taxes depending upon the value of the property. You can contact them and ask them to clarify the whole situation. Thus, you'll come to know whether or not they goofed up the situation.
Thanks
The lender can increase your property taxes depending upon the value of the property. You can contact them and ask them to clarify the whole situation. Thus, you'll come to know whether or not they goofed up the situation.
Thanks
al, when they did this, they no doubt sent you an escrow analysis, right? did you have questions as you went through that, and did you speak with anyone there? that's what they're designed for, so i hope you took the time.
they are definitely in their rights to make changes to your escrow account if they had insufficient funds to pay your taxes the last time they came due. unfortunately, lenders don't do escrow as well as we'd like them to do.
they are definitely in their rights to make changes to your escrow account if they had insufficient funds to pay your taxes the last time they came due. unfortunately, lenders don't do escrow as well as we'd like them to do.
We were with Countrywide for years and they dropped our escrow and allowed us to pay our own taxes and insurance. We did this for two years before Banko of America took over. They immediately tried to put us in escrow. They got a letter from the city about our taxes not being paid, and we explained our method of braking the payments down monthy so that by the end of the fiscal tax year...our taxes are paid. Then in August of 09', they got a letter from the city that our taxes were due. The taxes were due the 1st...we paid on the 8th. B of A put us in escrow...we got no notice, and both the bank and us were paying taxes...for months. In the end, the bank ended up paying $600 of our $1400 bill, we paid the rest. We are now in escrow and the bank claims they had to escrow us to protect from us losing the house to a tax lein sale (in Boston, this NEVER happens unless you have outstanding taxes due 30 days after June 30th...the end of the fiscal tax year). It's obvious our system (of 4 years) never has us delinquent 30 days ofter the tax year ends, but the bank claimed it was in danger of losing the house (yeah, right). We called them and explained and THEY told us to pay them the $600 they paid and the escrow would be removed. We payed...the escrow is still in effect (they lied). We sent the money to their tax department, like instructed...and they applied it to our mortgage instead.Now we are going to pay our taxes for the whole tax year instead so that there will be NO reason for escrow. We have been paying our payments (sans the escrow extra).
With our taxes paid, can they still escrow our mortgage? Had we paid the extra, they said they would pay our escrow back to us (but we know they lie now)...since we have not paid the extra, should they just wipe out this charge altogether since they would just pay it back to us anyway?
Does anyone have some good advice for us?
With our taxes paid, can they still escrow our mortgage? Had we paid the extra, they said they would pay our escrow back to us (but we know they lie now)...since we have not paid the extra, should they just wipe out this charge altogether since they would just pay it back to us anyway?
Does anyone have some good advice for us?
Hi Marcus,
The escrow account is for the safety of the borrowers. You deposit your insurance premiums and property taxes in this account which the lender pays off at the year-end to the required departments. As the lender is not removing the escrow account, I would suggest you to pay the dues into the escrow account rather than paying it to tax department.
The escrow account is for the safety of the borrowers. You deposit your insurance premiums and property taxes in this account which the lender pays off at the year-end to the required departments. As the lender is not removing the escrow account, I would suggest you to pay the dues into the escrow account rather than paying it to tax department.
Also, in today's market. You're gaining very little (if any) float by basically holding your own escrow.
Let the bank escrow and make sure they're collecting the minimum required. In the future, as your tax and insurance bills go up, the escrow company will literally be giving you small interest free loans as they are constantly slightly behind the curve on their escrow analysis.
Of course, if taxes and insurance were falling, the reverse would be true!
Let the bank escrow and make sure they're collecting the minimum required. In the future, as your tax and insurance bills go up, the escrow company will literally be giving you small interest free loans as they are constantly slightly behind the curve on their escrow analysis.
Of course, if taxes and insurance were falling, the reverse would be true!
I recieved a notice from my county saying I had deliquent taxes for summer and winter 2009. I checked with the city and sure enough they had not been paid (I brought this to the mortgage company's attention approx. 6 months ago, they insured me it would be paid). Along with the deliquent 2009 taxes, the mortgage company only paid a portion of my 2010 taxes, there is still $920.00 owing. When I contacted my mortgage company about this, they stated they had been unable to contact the city for my tax information?