Mortgage company tax payment issue

[tjett]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I have a problem in which my mortgage company did not pay my property taxes. I have received a delinquent tax bill with fines added. I contacted the tax district office. They informed me that they had to send out 2 separate tax statements to mortgage companies due to the local school district holding a "tax rollback election". The first statement included county taxes. The second had all of the other taxes including ISD taxes etc. The mortgage company said they paid the taxes from the tax statement they received. And, they did. It was only a fraction of the total tax debt (to county). They did not pay the second statement from the tax district (ISD). The person at the tax office said that many people in this school district have had the same problem with the mortgage companies. She said that the mortgage company did not apply the second statement. And, I am responsible for the late fees too. Now, I am going to be in real danger of loosing my house due to this. Is there anything that I can do?

[FlyingRon]

This is why I despise escrow impounds. I've had more mortgage companies screw things up over the years. I'd rather do it myself.

Stop the hemorrhaging by paying what the tax man wants.

You owe the taxes, but you shouldn't be responsible for the penalties, insist the loan company reimburse you for this. Also insist to be let out of the escrow requirement so you can do things properly. If they won't comply, sue 'em.

[HUD-1]

The lender is on the hook for the late fees; Section 6(g) of RESPA requires loan servicers to pay taxes, insurance and other escrow account charges on time to avoid late fees or penalties. (Section 6(g) is found at: 12 U.S.C. 2605(g).) HUD interprets Section 6 (g) of RESPA to require lenders to pay borrowers' tax bills on time so long as the homeowners were current in their mortgage payments. If the lender pays the tax bill late and the homeowner is current in making the mortgage payment, HUD would consider the lender responsible for any penalty or late charge, barring any justifiable excuse.

[VeronicaLodge]

i agree ron. i only pay principle and interest to my mortgage company, i pay my insurance and taxes myself each year!

[tjett]

Thank You for the information. I have read that this is a very common problem with my particular mortgage company. The problem lies in the fact that it was a new construction in Jan 2008. The payments were established based on an incomplete tax statement. So, we did not pay the taxes owed. The mortgage company said they will pay the taxes. I am not sure how they will establish repayment to them. I assume that they will spread the last years taxes over the next year. In addition to the correct taxes to be paid. That is going to raise my monthly payment by $600 a month. Normally that would be no problem but I bought several things (40 acres, new truck, etc) That is going to hit me hard. Bad planning on my part. It is a smart investment if I dont loose my house over the deal.

[FarmerJ]

You have enough advance notice now to find a part time job and use the pay from it to not only make advance payments to your county BUT to keep it going so you get to a point where what you have paid not only exceeds what was owed BUT you get a rolling start on the next tax bill. I imagine a little bit at a time over time will get you to a point that your mortgage lender might willingly drop collections or at least have to refund you the difference. I too pay Ptax and Ins directly and mortgage is only PI.