Mortgage Com., Paying your propert taxes

[aljos7]

What is the name of your state?
South Carolina
OUR MORTGAGE COM., EMC, LOCATED IN DALLAS, TEXAS, HAS PAID OUR PROPERTY TAXES, BEFORE THEY'RE DUE & HAS ADDED THAT AMOUNT TO OUR MONTHLY PAYMENT, RESULTING IN A $55.00 INCREASE, WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION, FOR A 12 MONTH PEIROD, IS THIS TRANSACTION LEGAL?
WE HAVE ALWAYS PAID OUR PROPERTY TAXES...
SINCERELY,
EARL & STARR JOHNSON

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by aljos7

What is the name of your state?
South Carolina
OUR MORTGAGE COM., EMC, LOCATED IN DALLAS, TEXAS, HAS PAID OUR PROPERTY TAXES, BEFORE THEY'RE DUE & HAS ADDED THAT AMOUNT TO OUR MONTHLY PAYMENT, RESULTING IN A $55.00 INCREASE, WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION, FOR A 12 MONTH PEIROD, IS THIS TRANSACTION LEGAL?
WE HAVE ALWAYS PAID OUR PROPERTY TAXES...
SINCERELY,
EARL & STARR JOHNSON

What does your written agreement say about this situation?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by aljos7

What is the name of your state?
South Carolina
OUR MORTGAGE COM., EMC, LOCATED IN DALLAS, TEXAS, HAS PAID OUR PROPERTY TAXES, BEFORE THEY'RE DUE & HAS ADDED THAT AMOUNT TO OUR MONTHLY PAYMENT, RESULTING IN A $55.00 INCREASE, WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION, FOR A 12 MONTH PEIROD, IS THIS TRANSACTION LEGAL?
WE HAVE ALWAYS PAID OUR PROPERTY TAXES...
SINCERELY,
EARL & STARR JOHNSON

**A: when you asked them why they did it, what did they tell you?

[aljos7]

South Carolina
Due To One Past Due Taxes On An Old 1970 Mo. Home, Used As Storage, The Other Taxes On Our Home, Are & Have Always Been Current! After A Search, We Actually Do Not Have Any New Paper Agreements With This Mortgage Com. There Was A Change From Superior Bank Mortgage Services, To This One In May Of 2002.
I Will Contact Them For A Copy Of This Agreement...
Thank You,
Earl & Starr Johnson

[baldfish]

It is legal. I am a new home owner and soon to be realestate agent in the state of Michigan and had the same thing happen to me. The reason for the increase is due to what's called, escrow. What you want to do is contact your city ,within the state of Texas , tax accessor's office and obtain a bill for the total amount billed to your mortgage company. Mail or fax (if your mortgage company allows fax) that bill to the mortgage company. In seeing the bill from yourself ,they may reduce the total escrow required within your mortgage payment therefore reducing your mortgage payment. Good luck!!!

[nextwife]

Many increases are due to the new tax bill reflecting a higher billing amount. The mortgage servicer bumps up the monthly amount so that you will not be short next year when the bill comes due if there is an increase (and there's almost always an increase).

[aljos7]

South Carolina

Thanks To You All For Your Advice !!!!! Needless To Say, I'm Still Confused, & Waiting On The Mortgage Contract, Duh****************************.

[efflandt]

Am I understanding correctly that your previous mortgage company did not escrow your taxes at all, but you received the tax bill and directly payed them yourself? Or is this an escrow increase?

$55/mo sounds too cheap to cover combined taxes for this year and next year for a home. I pay more than that for what is essentially the empty 1/4 acre of my double lot. Although, I used to pay ~$20/yr property tax for 12.5 acres in WI until they rezoned it from agricultural to undeveloped and bumped that to $380 for 2004.

If you were paying escrow, they can increase that at any time to cover any shortfall or whatever their reserve policy is to cover increasing taxes. But I do not know what the rules are if they started charging escrow when there was no escrow in the past.

What is it that you have to wait for? What matters is the contract you signed, which you should have a copy of stashed way somewhere safe.

[teenie1975]

My state: New York

I'm new here and just posted a problem with my bank creating a new escrow account and guess what? It's the SAME bank you're complaining of, and we previously were through Superior as well, although I can't remember the year exactly 2002 does sound about right.

Our escrow account wasn't created for property taxes-although at one point they did try to say we were behind on them too. Our lawyer was able to fix that problem. Instead, EMC has created an escrow account supposedly because we have failed to keep the required insurance on our place-which is totally false by the way and they have been shown that fact numerous times this past year.

I don't have any help for you, but it is interesting that we have a similar history with originating lenders and escrow accounts created that shouldn't have been.