The bad news FB...

Kasi80

I kind of want to cry.    I knew this would happen.  I called them on it too but they claimed to be correct.

We just received our home loan summary which details our monthly mortgage payment, taxes, and insurance payments which we pay into the escrow account.  We are short in our escrow account by $959.62!  So we have to pay that PLUS an extra $650 so as to not be short again next year.  OK, on top of all that extra $ we have to pay by March our monthly mortgage payment is going to go up $300. 

When I saw the #s originally I called escrow and told them they had their figures off.  I even told them their amount they had estimated for taxes was wrong but they told me they had their figures correct.  I looked on the county tax assessor's website and looked up how much the taxes were on the house and plugged in my #s that way but when I called them to tell them they were off they said they weren't!  How can they screw up?  How was I able to get the correct figure and they couldn't?  Isn't it their job?  

I am so frustrated.  Thank goodness the house's value was reassessed.  We went into this thinking our monthly payment would stay the same and it's what we could afford.  Now they change it on us!  I had a feeling this would happen and told a friend of mine last year that it would after they did the same thing to her.     

Kasi80

So that's what I was talking about on FB.  $1700 out of pocket now plus $300/mo added to our mortgage payment.   

desi2002

wow...  Im sorry about that... they can't do anything for you since they made the mistake and you caught it?

breleficent

I don't get it. How can they increase your payments? It just doesn't sound right!!! Shouldn't they have known what the taxes were when you bought the house!? It makes me upset because you aren't the only person that I've know that this has happened to. Its just so stupid. Maybe try calling back and talking to someone higher up than whom ever you were talking to? I'm so sorry Kas. This blows...and not in the good way

Maybe Andrew can get a pizza delivery job or something.

breleficent

Orrrr, maybe you can use your tax return $ to pay it???

hischiquita!

OMG! That sucks so bad. I'm so sorry

SarahB0427

Im so sorry...that sucks so bad!

amberg321

Im that friend! I know how you feel Kasi. You can demand an extension which is what we got. They ended up giving us 6 months to pay it back instead of 3. It doesnt fix the issue but it helped us out. It is so sad that these mortage companies REQUIRE us to use an escrow account but when they have their numbers wrong we are still responsible. Go figure?! If it makes you feel any better....we never even got a letter. We found out because we got a cancelation letter in the mail from our home owners insurance due to no payment. Who knows how long our escrow company would have gone on like that.

Kasi80

Oh man Amber!  We received our homwowners insurance policy statement and I had a feeling our escrow account didn't have enough in it to pay both that and the taxes.  Insurance is due February.  That is covered.  Taxes in March, NOT covered and that's where the $959 I have to pay comes in.  The $650 is so we aren't under funded int eh acct next year as well.  That portion is broken up into 12 months but I am going to pay that up front with the $959.  Our monthly payment is going up already but if I can pay the $650 now I might as well and put less stress on us monthly.

As ofr recourse.  I don't think we have any.  We are liable for it either way.  We were forced to use the escrow company.  That particular one was terrible from day one but the seller had the option of choosing, not us.  As for the #s.  They gave us breakdowns of the payments and when I questioned it as being incorrect they said it wasn't.  Rather than fight it to get it right I relied on hoping they were right.  Either way even if they had the figures correct we would have eneded up paying what we are going to pay.  it would have been in monthly payments rather than all at once though.

mc108

aw man! that blows!! It seems so crazy that they can do that to you with no warning really....eeek

sdkissez

I'm sorry to hear this Kasi.  But, you're right, there is no recourse on this.  Hopefully this won't happen again next year.  The whole system is screwed up and the people are the ones who have to pay for their mistakes.

mrs.payne2010

kasi the same exact thing happened to my mom this past year. apparently the tax bill is based on the values of last year so since you probably bought the home for way less the bill hasn't been adjusted. what she ended up doing was getting a streamline refinance and then she did have to pay the additional. once the tax assessors refigure for next time they will see that there was an overage and the escrow account should refund you your over payment.

mrs.payne2010

yeah my mom said to have the tax assessors reasses the home because they need to go by what you paid. thats what will get the mtg company to get the escrow account straightened out.

Kasi80

The value was reassessed last year so the taxes have gone down by $1200/year.  I think where they messed up is on the special assessment taxes.  I don't think they took those into account even though they were pklaced on the property 10 years before it was even built.  So the house has always had that special assessment tax attached to it.  I have no clue what they were looking at when they did the #s.  Everything I saw noted the special assessment taxes.

mrs.payne2010

ohhhh i never heard of the special assessments tax....im so sorry kasi. taxes are so annoying and the only crappy part about owning a home. this past year we got hit with a aupplemental taxe bill which too made our mortgage go up by 200.00 a month. good thing we pay weekly or we would have been screwed. with the way that things are now it doesn't matter if its 25.00 or 250.00 more a month its still big. i knw with us we rearly have any extra money as it is. good thing you were able to work out a budget though, you guys should be fine!

Kasi80

I was a little worried about supp taxes.  We didn't end up getting a bill though!  WHEW!

Think mello roos when you think special assessment taxes.  They just made it sound nicer by saying "special assessment" or "city beautification".   It's a bond and will expire in 2013.  Once it does our taxes will go down another $2000 or $1600 a year or so.  OK, that's assuming people don't vote to add more bonds and raise taxes.