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RE: Mortgage experts? - 8/11/2008 8:24:52 AM
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bzirk
Posts: 2956
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Where the deer and antelope play
Status: offline
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Pam,
I'm far from a mortgage expert, but it's been made abundantly clear by the actions of many lenders and the fed that there is a serious cash flow problem with a lot of lenders. So it makes total sense for a lender to try to estimate those taxes as much as they can in order to have more cash on hand. Certainly, any ability of the lender to tap into some of that escrow is determined by state laws, but hey, it's patently obvious the mortgage industry is not regulated such that funny business doesn't go on. We wouldn't be in this mess if there were more oversight. Too bad the lenders couldn't police themselves adequately.
What's interesting is that I'm hearing about a lot of people being short on escrow, yet property taxes are generally going down since houses are generally losing value. They are declining in so many areas that a lot of municipalities are greatly concerned about the decrease in revenue. And I have a hard time believing homeowner's insurance is increasing at such a rapid rate.
But I've been wondering while reading this thread if you get an itemized statement of escrow payments and if you don't, certainly, you can check yourself on the various insurance premiums and the taxing entities. Might take a little work, but it might be worth it to figure out what's going on.
I know one year early in our first mortgage, we got hit with a shortfall in escrow, and it was indeed a mistake by the lender. They had our insurance figures completely wrong, and they were unwilling to change it until I got the insurance company involved. Very frustrating, but it taught me to never leave those figures to the lender. I always check them.
_____________________________
may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Great quote: I just ain't God and don't know it all. -- SonInMe1
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RE: Mortgage experts? - 8/13/2008 1:34:36 AM
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relady
Posts: 1281
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Greater St. Louis Metro
Status: online
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quote:
Certainly, any ability of the lender to tap into some of that escrow is determined by state laws, but hey, it's patently obvious the mortgage industry is not regulated such that funny business doesn't go on. It's actually federally regulated on the escrow level. They passed a law a few years back that lenders are only able to pad the account by 2-3 months, and when the escrow goes over that they are required by law to send a refund. It's screwy but it addressed a common problem a few years back of them holding 6 months or more money and then "using" it to the bank's benefit, read: profit. Escrow is one of the few closely regulated items, and if anyone thinks something is screwy with theirs they should contact their lender and get an explanation of what's going on.
I've been down that same road of getting a refund one year and then having a shortfall the next. It's just crazy.
As far as taxes go...around here they only reassess every two years, and taxes are still going up because they never caught up with the market values of homes. And here in St. Louis, we haven't lost much value anyways. There are some areas though, where the taxes will no doubt go down at reassessment time. But until then, you pay based on the last assessment. And insurance goes up every year. I think in my 14 years of being a homeowner, there were only 3 years that my insurance didn't increase a little.
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RE: Mortgage experts? - 8/13/2008 8:15:44 AM
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bzirk
Posts: 2956
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Where the deer and antelope play
Status: offline
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I've never lived through a year that insurance rates and taxes didn't go up, but however long the lag time on assessment of homes, the taxes are expected to go down in many places.
We agree that no matter what, the home owner should always oversee what the company servicing the mortgage is doing. Sadly, most don't do that until there is an obvious problem.
_____________________________
may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Great quote: I just ain't God and don't know it all. -- SonInMe1
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