Mortgage company told me to pay wrong monthly payment, now escrow shortage

What is the name of your state? Georgia

Hello forum,

I made the first payment on my home in September of 2002. The payment book only contained pages for the months of September-December 2002. I was issued an escrow refund of $150.00 at the end of 2002.

I received a new payment book for the 2003 year with a $50.00 per month lower payment than my previous three payments. I thought nothing about it and continued to make my monthly payments. At the end of 2003, I received my payment book for 2004 which stated that I would be receiving an escrow refund of $196.50. There was no mention of any escrow shortage; it only stated that there was an escrow overage of the said refund amount. I managed to find my escrow account analysis from 2003, which did show a negative balance of $526.00. I would think my payments would have increased more than $5.00 per month for a $526.00 deficiency ($526.00/12 = $43.83). My payments for 2004 increased approximately $5.00 per month.

A couple of days ago, I received my payment book for 2005. My payments have increased nearly $200.00 per month secondary to an escrow deficiency of $1326.00. This is the first time that I have been told I have a deficiency in the front of the payment book.

Ok, now for the questions...

Why was I issued refunds if in fact I had an escrow shortage?

Although I realize that the money I now owe the mortgage company is legit, I think it sucks that they messed up for two years and mis-calculated my mortgage payments in the payment book. They had a calculated escrow amount of $41.00 per month when in fact it should have been closer to $100.00 per month. Although this was a little naive on my part, I simply paid the amount that was listed on each monthly payment ticket. Is there anything that can be done?

Thanks

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Was that a mortgage payment for a single-wide or a double-wide?

IAAL

Originally Posted by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

My response:

Was that a mortgage payment for a single-wide or a double-wide?

IAAL

Haha, nice one jackass. As a matter of fact, it is for a townhouse as if that matters.

Maybe you can be liable for my d*ck in your mouth.

Peace

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by stoxup

Haha, nice one jackass. As a matter of fact, it is for a townhouse as if that matters.

Maybe you can be liable for my d*ck in your mouth.

Peace

My response:

Yeah, right. Is that what they're calling trailers in Georgia these days, "townhouses"? Yeah, you hitch it up behind the old pick-up truck and drag it around "town".

Chomp, chomp - - chewy!

IAAL

Doesn't a 54-55 year old have anything better to do than troll internet forums? Oh wait, the wife or girlfriend prolly left you for someone about my age when she realized you had to start popping Viagra just to get it up. How many pills are you up to now whenever you rub one out watching net porn?

Just curious.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by stoxup

Doesn't a 54-55 year old have anything better to do than troll internet forums? Oh wait, the wife or girlfriend prolly left you for someone about my age when she realized you had to start popping Viagra just to get it up. How many pills are you up to now whenever you rub one out watching net porn?

Just curious.

My response:

Oh, Georgia Hillbillies are so funny!!

That so-called "townhouse" wouldn't be near a bayou, would it?

IAAL

[Ciarraine]

Originally Posted by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

My response:

Oh, Georgia Hillbillies are so funny!!

That so-called "townhouse" wouldn't be near a bayou, would it?

IAAL

IAAL: You need to travel a little more. Atlanta is a modern, world-class city which even hosted the Olympics once upon a time. There aren't many double-wides in Savannah or Augusta, either. I'd be willing to venture that a lot more people in Georgia live in townhouses than in trailers. I'm also hard-pressed to think of a bayou in Georgia, but perhaps your knowledge of natural geography exceeds mine.

Stoxup: Don't trust a mortgage company to calculate your escrow balance correctly. Always double-check. In your case it sounds like they were using out-of-date data. Here is how to compute your approximate escrow balance:

Step 1: Look at your tax bill and count the number of months until the due date. Subtract this number from 14.

Step 2: Divide your tax bill by twelve. Multiply the remainder by the number you calculated in step 1.

Step 3: Repeat this process for any other escrows you have, such as your homeowner's insurance.

Step 4: Add all of these together, and you have a close approximation to what your escrow balance ought to be. Compare that to your mortgage servicer's actual escrow balance and if it's very different, you'll know you are headed for a problem.

RESPA (the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) provides that no more than two months in excess of the required amount to pay your bill can be held in escrow, which is why you're subtracting from 14 instead of 12.

Hope that helps. Good luck!