My wife and I are still waiting to close on the house we want to buy. We put an offer on the house the last day of July, and it was accepted by the sellers the first day of August. Now here it's the 27th of October, and the mortgage company still tells us it's too early to say when we will close on the house. My wife is so disgusted, she is starting to think we should just walk away from the whole deal. It seems like there has been 1 loop hole after another. Good thing the sellers are really noce people, as they could have pulled the rug out from under us on this deal weeks ago. My question is, the mortgage company told me a few days ago that at the closing we had to pay the seller back for ALL the taxes on the property for this tax year. I have since had someone tell me that we only pay them back for the taxes from the date we close until the end of the tax year. The taxes I'm refering to are school and land taxes. So, who is right. I can't believe anything the mortgage company tells me anymore. They are so full of BS, it's not even close to funny. Thanks, Dan :3gears:
Sounds like BS to me. We only owed the taxes for the remaining months of the year when we bought last year. And we had a closing date set up VERY soon after our offer was accepted. I believe we closed less than 2 months after the seller accepted. This mortgage co sounds like one to walk away from.
Dan - Unless NY has different rules than all the other states I've dealt with, I can't imagine having to pay ALL the taxes that the seller paid. I could see covering since Sept., when some of the new taxes would have come out. Most lenders require a certain amount of months paid up or in escrow.......usually 6mos., sometimes a year. Two months to secure a loan seems like an awfully long time. The average loan takes around 4 weeks, give or take a week. All depends on how much information the lender has to have and how long it takes to get it from the borrower. Other things that can delay the process are usually out of your hands....appraisal, home inspections, pest, etc. I guess the bottom line is - are you both satisfied that this is the house for you, at this point in time. If there are any doubts, now is the time to walk away.
I would never buy a house or sell one for that mater without the use of a competent real estate atourney. they will know all the correct procedures. its money well spent.
Lost in Yonkers Hey Dan, I am a REALTOR and have been for 18 years in Michigan and now Iowa. In Michigan taxes are paid ahead and in Iowa they are paid behind. What that means is when I sell a home in Iowa, the taxes still are unpaid for the prior year and it is the sellers responsibility to pay them so they pro-rate (pay) the amount at the closing and it is credited to the buyer up to the closing date. Now, as the new homeowner, you have to pay those taxes but you have been credited money to do so. Find out how NY pays their taxes at closing. Regarding the mortgage: It sounds like you may have applied for your loan "out on the internet". :error: Maybe that is not true. Anyway, there should be some fine print in your offer that says if you have not received loan commitment or denial by a certain date, notice must be served within a certain period by the seller to release all parties from obligation. Since the sellers have been so kind to you, I would let them know that I plan to contact the mortgage company and tell them I am rescinding my loan application which probably will costs you the appraisal and credit report money you submitted at application. Then I would apply somewhere locally where trust and timeliness can occur. If REALTORS are involved, and hopefully they are, ou: have them do the work and earn their commission. If not, you might want to seek an attorney's advice although after the fact. Most professional offers should cover these issues with dates and deadlines. Good luck.
NY uses lawyers for closings (as opposed to Title Companies), as do several other states. I talked to a friend of mine who has 2 properties. He said they ask for 1 years worth of taxes & ins. to be put into escrow. I can't imagine any reason why you would be asked to make any concessions to the seller, other than new taxes that came out in Sept. I also found out from my friend, that it took 2 1/2 mos. to get his last property closed. And he said everything went fairly smoothly. I guess NY moves in slow motion on loans. o No: I wish my Co. would hurry up and get approved to do business in NY.....they applied a couple of years ago. Typical Albany red tape. NY is the only state in the country that I CAN'T do business in yet. ou: No surprise......just look how long Albany takes to get us our Titles for our cars. :blast: :spank:
I also have a REALTOR licence and have practiced for a couple years. I agree with what smokenm has said completely. Additionally: 1. Find out how taxes are paid at the beginning of the year or the end. In Kansas and Missouri they are paid at the end of the year. You should only have to pay taxes for the amount of time you have lived in the home for a given year. If you move in on December 1, 2005 then you pay 1/12 of the taxes for 2005. If they are paid in the front then you will have to give money to the seller. If they are paid at the end the seller will have to give you money. 2. As for having to pay for taxes and insurance I do not know the laws in NY but it is illegal for a mortage company to hold more then 2 months of taxes and insurance in escrow in Kansas and Missouri. This is on a primary residence. I do not know the laws for a rental property. 3. Payments that may have to be made to the seller would be for taxes, specials (government assesed taxes for improvement to the area), home owners associtation dues, etc that have been paid in full at the beginning of the year by the current owner. Again, You should only have to pay for the portion of time that you lived in the home during that year. 4. If you don't have a REALTOR or an attorney it may be in your best intrest to obtain the services of an attorney to evaluate your situation. 5. Where you pre-approved? What type of commitment did your lender give you before you purchased the home. What was the time frame or date of closing on the contract between you and the seller and did you lender agree they could meet the deadline. 6. If it has taken 3 months to close your loan then either you have some special circumstances such as you need to sell a home, you income is not stable, etc. or the mortgage company is not getting it done for you. I have not seen a transaction take more then a two months to complete and I have seen them happen in as little as a week. I would ask your lender why they cannot close. Additionally I would check other lenders in the area to see if they can offer a better service. Mark
Thanks for all the replys. The mortgage company is somewhat local, it's in Binghamton. The biggest problem is to keep them moving. They have a bad habit of coming to a stand still for no real reason. The mortgage is a little different, as we have applied for the cost of the house and some extra money to have some work done to it. They called it a re-hab loan. We got a letter of commitment from the bank @ 3 weeks ago. Now they keep telling they have to work out the fine details. How many fine details need to be worked out? I usually call them 2 or 3 times a week to keep them moving. It bothers them that I keep calling them, but it has been working somewhat. I know that early in the process, they came to a stand still for about 2 1/2 weeks. They said they had been very busy. I should have left then, but I was stupid. Now I'm afraid if we leave, we loose the property. The original closing date was set at Oct. 3. We asked the seller for an extension once. They agreed, but that was until the end of October. I don't know if they will extend it long enough to setup another mortgage. I didn't call them today. Probably should have. I called them Monday and Wednesday this week. Then my wife called them Thursday. Right now we are buying fuel to heat this house, instead of the 1 we are trying to buy. I guess I can't do anything for a few days now. Monday is a different story though. As for the taxes, they are paid ahead in NY. The new land taxes will be out in January. The school taxes are paid in September for the upcoming school year. Thanks, Dan
On the first house I bought, the mortgage company jerked me around (alot like what you describe). Being inexperienced, I thought this was normal. Every other house purchase and mortgage has gone very smooth. Beleive it or not, you are in the driver's seat on this transaction. I would look for another mortgage company first, then give your current company notice that you want your fees refunded immediately if they don't set a closing date. Request a closing package and hire a real estate attorney to review the paperwork before you sign anything. Dave
Dan, I owned a home in Broome County that was sold in 2001. Taxes are paid in advance for the fiscal year. You as the buyer pay a prorated portion of the taxes for the property. That is to say, you only reimburse the seller for taxes paid from the time you take possession to the end of the paid up taxation period. Someone is blowing smoke at you and your wife. The other guys posting on this issue are correct. A real estate lawyer is imperative in buying real property in NYS. Another thing to beware of is that NYS does not have a defect disclosure law as it relates to current owner knowledge of bad issues with the house. Make sure you hire a professional house inspector and have a water quality and air/water radon radon testing performed. Use the house inspectors report and the radon/water testing results to use as a tool when negotiating. Were you preapproved for a mortgage with your vendor of choice prior to making an offer? That makes a big difference on the timeline. We have used Wells Fargo for the last three home purchases and have had no delays or crappy issues such as you have described. The average time for us from offer to possession was 4 weeks. Thats it. Dump the lendors :spank: and go to someone that is more credible is my suggestion. George
I'm not a tax guru or anything close, so will not coment on that. But... i would DUMP the morgage company like it was a rusty mustang. That's way too slow. When I bought first house, I had a morgage broker, big mistake. He wasted so much time trying to find the best deal for HIM. I about dumped the wholedeal. The realitor played negotiator and kept him on line with me. I allowed him to waste more time. The seller/builder very angry by this time. about to dump me. I "fired" the guy. Took the already done paper work and took it to the university bank here in town. With that paperwork already done, they had the money in my hand in ONE F#$K'n DAY! it was done right there. This other dumba$$ took three weeks to NOT get it done. unbelieveable. I even got a better rate. These guys are taking to long. Cut all losses and get a good local bank (or another as the case may be) and they will get it done, AND answer, if not take care of you tax question. the seller MUST be nice to wait that long. i would not be suprised if you get a nastygram from them soon.
As much as we all wish we could get something for nothing.... I have decided a long time ago that a good realtor is worth a lot. They are often able to bargain for a lower price and also know all the legalities for the sale. Real estate is a trickey business and it really pays to have a professional helping you.
Well it looks like the MORONS are actually getting something done. I've heard, through my insurance agent, that the tenative closing date is now November 8th. Not really a good day for me or my wife though. It would work best for me on the 14th, that would be my next business day off. I could also work it into the 10th, that would be my wifes day off. Should I push them to move it to accomodate us? Also, is there anything particular I should watch for at the closing? They have not actually notified us of the closing date yet. I'm not sure how long I should wait to see if they actually call us to tell us. Maybe they will call us the evening of the 7th to let us know. I'll believe this when it actually happens. Dan
Certainly!! This deal is about you, not them. They can draw docs when it's convenient for YOU. Most of the people my sister and I did loans for, took the earliest date available. If they had a particular request, we always did everything to accomodate them!! That's just good business (not to mention common courtesy).......you want a good relationship between consumer & broker. The average homeowner does something new with their mortgage every 5 or 6 years. Don't forget your photo ID's!! :grin: Had that happen to a couple of clients. Also, double check the rate & term that you were quoted!! Typos happen......usually nothing an E&O page can't fix. Good to see this is coming to an end. :TU:
You can move the date to the extent that it does not go outside of the loan commitment period. Insist on getting a copy of the proposed HUD 1 a day in advance by fax or you pick it up. Many times mistakes are made. It will be tough for you to really digest the paperwork when you see it for the first time during the closing.
Well we finally closed the deal today. Now I have a lot of payments to look foward to. Everything went pretty smooth today. The only difference I noticed in the paperwork was the payment was increased by @$30 per month. I believe that's because of the increase in taxes. The seller was an elderly woman that was getting a big discount on the taxes. They had her listed as only paying $39 a year for school taxes. Now that it's sold, the taxes will go to the full rate again. Oh well, I guess I gotta pay my taxes now. I was reading through the Abstract of Title tonight. The original deed listed was from May 7,1894. Maybe I can find out when the house was actually built. That would be cool. Dan :3gears:
Sounds like BS to me. If they wanted to close this deal it would be done already. They must have sensed your eagerness and now are trying to keep you on the fence. YOU ARE THE BUYER YOU HAVE THE POWER!...
Alan, They locked us in at 6.75%. That was about the only reason I put up with the BS so long. I thought that was a very good rate for this type of loan. Dan :3gears:
