Talk > Rants, Raves, and Praise > [Rant] US Bank Home Mortgage did not pay my property taxes

[Rant] US Bank Home Mortgage did not pay my property taxes

Uneeda Lawyer.

See here.

»portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src···pafaq#HT

Unfortunately it doesn't address your tax situation.

reply to hoyleysox
I had a similar situation with my mortgage holder last year. We closed on this place at the end of December 2009. County and municipal taxes were due in March and September 2010. respectively. There was more than adequate funds in the escrow account to cover both. Come November of 2010, I get a delinquency notice from the township and the county. Up to that point, I did not realize that my taxes had not been paid.

I promptly contacted the mortgage company, and they also agreed to "investigate". I then received a lien notice from the county in January of 2011. It took me until February of 2011, countless phone calls and faxes, and finally a visit to a branch office of the bank to get the bank to admit that it was their screw up and finally pay the taxes. It was like dealing with a bunch of idiots. One hand did not know what the other was doing. I was bounced around repeatedly between offices in Rhode Island, Maryland, and Texas. But I finally did get the taxes paid. Unfortunately, they weren't paid until February 2011, so I could not write them off on my 2010 taxes. However, for 2011, I will be able to write off both the 2010 and 2011 taxes against my 2011 income.

My bad experience was with CCO mortgage, the mortgage lender for Citizens Bank (formerly Mellon).

The really sad part is, that in our previous house, I paid my own taxes, on time and without fail for nearly twenty years without the "benefit" of a big bank escrow account.

Keep after them. Document every contact that you have with them. Hound them weekly. If they have not resolved it to your satisfaction by the next time taxes are due, contact a lawyer. Good luck.
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Shine on you crazy diamond...

Just reminded me that the escrow account balance is sufficiently funded to pay the entire 2012 property tax balance and most of the 2012 hazard insurance.

I am going to ask them to cancel my escrow account, but I didn't opt out at signing. Any ideas about the grounds for twisting their arm on the phone or in writing?

No ideas in particular. Just be persistent, courteous, and professional about it.

If they are anything like the group I dealt with, they may just be truly incompetent, and did not do this maliciously. If it is truly their fault, they are responsible for any penalties, as cited in the link posted by Zoder above.

My bank paid my late fees; I checked with the local tax offices, and they even paid the taxes and fees with checks from different accounts - checks from my account for the base taxes, and checks from some other account (read - not mine) for the late fees/penalties. And the lien was cleared.

Is there a local branch for your lender. I got more accomplished in one visit to a branch office than in nearly a dozen phone calls and four faxes. Maybe it was because I refused to leave the branch office until I had something in writing from the bank acknowledging that they were indeed responsible for paying the taxes and penalties. Even the branch manager, who took the time to work with me, had trouble getting the straight dope from the folks that she contacted on the phone, as I sat patiently across from her at her desk. But she was as persistent as I was, and apparently had numbers that she could call without getting the run-around.

EDIT: Opting out is wise. I did that on our old house when we refied. I couldn't do it on this one, as I did not have enough equity in it at closing. As soon as I can, you bet your butt I will opt out. There are certain rules, within my mortgage agreement, that let me opt out; one that allows me to request an opt out at a specific equity level, subject to an on-time payment history and bank approval, and one that allows me to opt out at a better equity level, without bank approval but subject to on-time payent history. On-time payment history is not an issue with auto-draft of my payments.
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Shine on you crazy diamond...

reply to hoyleysox

The deduction deferral is the biggest peeve, they cannot make right the time that cash sits on the table; better to have the opportunity to pay down the mortgage now than next year.

I feel your pain.

Fortunately, for me, the amount of the deduction is only about $3600. I can't imagine what it would be in levy-happy Taxafornia.
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Shine on you crazy diamond...

reply to hoyleysox
US Bank is also "investigating" our complaint of them not paying our taxes in December so that we could deduct it on our taxes. We have ALWAYS paid in December. We refinanced in Nov. and it's been a nightmare. We signed the form to have our taxes paid in December as long as we faxed the tax bill to them by Dec. 20th. We did that. I even called to verify that they paid the bill and they said yes it was paid. We received a statement from them also indicating that the tax payment was made. Low and behold, they sent a check out and then stopped payment on it, claiming I called in and requested it be cancelled. Everytime I call them, I get a different person with a different answer. I am so angry!!! How can a financial institution be so inept?

reply to Phyl1972