Citifinancial Mortgage Co
Deferred Texas Property Taxes Paid by Lender, Escrow Over $10,000

In 1996 we sold our home of 27 years. We had planned for it to be our retirement home, but because of increased city, county, and school taxes, we were forced to move to a lower tax district. We paid cash for our new home, but along the way we had some unexpected expenses to finish the house. We found a company, Associates, and borrowed cash on a home equity loan. That was in 1998, the year I turned 65. In Texas, when you reach age 65 you are allowed to defer your property taxes. This means you no longer pay taxes on your property. They are deferred, not dismissed, at a lower interest rate, and they accumulate until your death or the sale of your home, when the taxes are paid through the estate or the sale. This was a well-known fact, and I informed Associates of it. We planned our payments to fit our retirement, to be paid off in 10 years so we could have a home paid off and no other payments.

On or about 2000, Citifinancial Mortgage bought our mortgage. In 2002 we received a statement notifying us that Citi had paid the tax bill without notice to us. The amount was $5,300. They added it to an escrow account and demanded immediate payment. Over the last 2 years we have sent copious amounts of laws, rules, and regulations and have fought with them, to no avail. Then we received another statement in July of this year saying that once again they had paid our taxes, this time in the amount of $5,018.00. I went to the tax office and complained about the payment, and discovered the tax bill had not been paid. The director sent them a fax explaining the law, saying that the tax bill had not been paid by them and that it was a deferred tax which we were entitled to because of our age. Our next statement came and the payment had been taken off, which gave us a better feeling that maybe they had finally listened to us. But our mailbox held the answer to that. We received a statement that they had once again paid our tax bill, this time in the amount of $5,148.22, bringing our escrow to $10,515.47, half of the original amount of the loan, which we have only 4 more years until it is paid off.

I am 71 years old and I have a small income. We have never been late with our payment. It is on direct pay from the bank, and our budget does not allow for a $10,000.00 payoff.

What do you do?

Company: Citifinancial Mortgage Co
Country: USA
State: Texas
City: Coppell
Address: 1111 Northpoint Drive
Phone: 8888602437

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