HELP--11 months after closing Investor/title company insist we owe money to them?

**happy35** · 01-29-2011, 01:23 PM

Hi we have a situation going on we bought a home from a private investor about 11 months ago, and last week he sent us an email stating that a credit was given to us at closing for the property taxes, and that due to that credit we now owe over $500 for property taxes, he escrows our property taxes on a monthly basis.
(BY THE WAY THE TAXES HAVE NOT GONE UP.) they are the same as they were when we bought the house.

*also the credit that he claims they gave us on the other side of the settlement sheet shows as it was charged back to us again.

anyway after calling the title company where we did our closing she insists that due to that credit we owe the investor that amount of money, we met with the investor and he couldn't explain it to us clearly as he was confused as well, but insists that we owe that amount.

anyway I have bought 3 homes and I have never had this problem occur in the past that 11 months after a closing they claim we owe them money for taxes due to a credit that was given.

the investor says he trusts the title company did not make any mistakes on the settlement papers, but how can this occur so long after a closing, please give me advise as we are very upset and cannot afford to pay this to him, we thought all was already resolved at closing. do we have to pay him back?? any advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

**flash.investing** · 02-14-2011, 08:41 PM

I am so sorry for the trouble you are having with your new purchase! The settlement statement should have been gone over thorughly at your closing by the closing agent. There is usually a proration of property taxes which appears as a credit to the buyer because, depending on the date of close, the buyer should not be held responsible for taxes during the period they did not own the property. At the same time, and this is what gets so confusing, the buyer will usually be charged for the immediate tax bill coming up so the title company can pay it to ensure there will be no tax lien against the property or the buyer and seller. Since you probably did not opt for tax & insurance payments to be included in your monthly mortgage payment (to the investor/owner?), the property taxes should be in your name. Go straight to the source. Check with your county auditor to see what taxes are due. If the outstanding taxes are for the period you owned the property (after closing), then it is your bill and you pay the county auditor. If the outstanding taxes include the period before you took ownership, it is on the seller.

**landontreber** · 02-16-2011, 03:07 PM

Is this an issue because they provided financing? If not, then I would check your paperwork because the title company should have done a tax cert, and all prorated amounts should be final (also check your contract). If they did provide the financing, then you have a whole other can of worms because they have the note on your home. As a last resort, you may want to involve a real estate attorney. Check to see if their is any legal aid type of deal in your area