Citi Residential forced up my Escrow by paying late taxes, can they do that?

I was reading your comment and they did exactly the same thing with me on my mortgage because I was late with my first half of the year taxes. Then went and paid the second half at the same time which was months ahead of when they were due. Now, they have taken the monthly cost of taxes and doubled it for a year to build up a year's worth of taxes in escrow while at the same time paying back the taxes that they paid without solicitation. this raised my payment by 800.00! so now, I am consistently late with my monthly payments because I had not had any forewarning that tney were going to do this and did not budget for the increase! Stay clear of this institution for loaning money.

In reference to previous comment....
I'm guessing you have plenty of equity and EVEN tho' I KNOW it's so popular to say, "Contact your lender, first sign of trouble......they DON'T WANT YOUR HOUSE!

I'd like to add a qualifier to this popular often quoted so called 'truth of fact' with the following....
"The bank may not want your house, but they sure as hell WANT THE EQUITY!!! Especially if you are long term home owner that walks the precarious line of the following:
Multi-family,
disabled,
single mother,
social security,
etc.
Not finding liens in escrow, paying taxes late or mis-applying or holding payments, payment shortages not reported in statements of $5-$10 because of MISC or LEGAL or OTHER line items not reflected in monthly statements but subtracted from you payment amount are small potatoes to this company. (This is ONLY my opinion...unfortunately, it is also my personal experience.)

Check them out a little more and I believe you will, at the very least, eliminate voluntary escrow accounts.

P.S. I suggest verification of payment amounts and dates with the Assessors Office, as well as your Home Owners Insurance provider.

In response...Yes, a single mother who has actually managed to support herself and educate herself. I have owned this house for four years and it wasn't until citi residential assumed my mortgage that I was late with payments. I only wish that I could refinance with ANY other institution. And in a few months, I will have a variable interest and I can just imagine the creative way this company will profit! I am going to guess that they are probably NOT one of the agencies that are volunteering to freeze their interest rate? I haven't checked yet but will be. Live and learn. I would never borrow from this company again!

Hi, This is great info. I am in Ohio and have been late with payment the last few months for basically the same reasons, lack of work, although (thank goodness) I do not have my taxes escrowed w/payment.

Since being late I have been receiving harassing phone calls every few days starting on the 2nd of the month (mgt pmnt due the 1st). Because I will not schedule a payment until I am sure the money is in the bank to cover payment.

They don't seem to care that it's against the law (and a FELONY if over $500) to write a check if you know you don't have funds in the bank to cover it.

I am a tax preparer with more than 1200 clients in the office and you can rest assured I will encourage everyone I see to move their mortgage to any company other than citiresidential.

Now that it's tax season I will be able to catch up luckily and I hope to find in institution to refinance. The problem with that is thanks to AmeriQuest I am currently beyond 110% equity in the home. Anyone have any good ideas as to who I should try? I want my mortgage away from these crooks!

Hi Ken,

I really don't have any suggestions other than refinancing of course. But if anyone reading this can actually comment on the legalities of a company doing this. I understand the payment of the first half of property taxes if they are late, but is it legal for them to pay a bill that is not due for 2-3 months and then force the mortgagee to incur a financial hardship because they paid a bill ahead of time???
I refuse to be one of those people who are forced under because subprime lenders have become loan sharks. And what is this with the freeze on the fixed/variable rate interests that Bush has encouraged. Why is
it only on a voluntary basis by these lenders!!!!! Without even
checking, I will bet that citiresidential is NOT going to voluntarily freeze interests rates on loans about to turn to variable interest rate loans!!!
I will be okay, I have ways of flipping this around for myself. But many people are losing their homes because all they did was buy one piece of property and don't make enough to be able to afford the higher payments. I think there should be penalties for loan sharking and lending money to people that these subprime lenders knew could not afford the loan once the fixed rate went variable!

Citi Residential has done the same to us, we only owed the Dec. 07 installment, they paid it in Oct. 07, before it was due, and also paid for the entire year of 2008. They said there was an "escrow shortage" of over $4400. and increased my payments from 607. per month to 1044. I have called and tried to modify the terms or restructure, but they will not even help me, currently we are 2 months behind, as my husband has recently become disabled and cannot work, they are aware of this as I have called and tried to work something out so I don't lose my house. I am at my wits end, I do not know where to turn for help.
And because of all of this, our credit score has dropped drastically, and I know that we will not be able to refinance because of it. If anyone has any ideas where I can turn for help. And the adjustable rate was suppose to top at 11.25% it is now 11.85%, can anyone help me?

Can they do it? yes... Please everyone..I want you all to get copies of your Mortgage and the Note (if you don't have it) In the Mortgage it does say that if it is reported that taxes are delinquent the may pay it. Also for people who have high insurance forced on their homes. The was a document you signed saying that you would maintain insurance on the property. If they get a report saying you did not pay it or it was cancelled,they will start to send out letters saying you need to send proof. Don't disregard the letters..fax the proof (but I would sugg calling that dept with your insurance agent on the line).

Loan mods: from what they tell me they were sending letters to people who qualified for that Bush things..but I saw info on it online and there are millions of people who won't! It's stupid. (wish i wrote the site down, sorry guys)

You gotta fill out a financial analysis/statement, whatever they call it and then they would mail you out the paperwork to see if they could adjust your loan.

I know some who was offered a freeze from them and one with a loan mod.. but everybody did they spill where they ask you how much you make and utility cost. Do it..it may help you.

As far as the reps goes.. I get off on one about increase in my rate a few months ago. She told me "that's what you signed for" I looked at my note and sure enough i was reminded of the range of the rates..So know i'm waiting out the Prepayment penalty so that I can refi to a fixed mortg.

I asked about the calls on the 2nd (i pay on the web on the 6th of the month usually) rep was pretty good about telling me what the deal was and i get the sense she thought it was crap too. Due on the first late after 16th. calls on the 2nd. if you make your payments on the same day of the month, probably no calls. but if you pay it on time (before 16th) and your pay late once in let's a year.. you will start getting calls again on the 2nd.

From what i understand calling on the 2nd is just a collections tack.

REMEMBER AMERIQUEST/AMC was a subprime lender: meaning people under them usually have low credit scores, so they are on you to make sure you pay.

Hope it help!
Miss learned from experience.

Give me a break!! Subprime lenders are "loan sharks" that took advantage of people who were working hard to get ahead. And low credit scores are not an excuse for people to be mislead. I had a really hard time understanding the last comment due to spelling and grammar. So for those who are still looking for answers as I, we would like someone with some legal background to let us know if the court will discriminate between paying escrowed taxes that are late and escrowed taxes that are paid EARLY by Citiresidential lending.

Subprime lending and having a low credit score has nothing to do with being taken advantage of by "loan sharks". There are many reasons for lower credit scores and it does not give a company the right to mislead people into thinking that they can afford payments on a loan and not make it clear that they "WILL NOT" be able to afford the payments when they get done jacking the interest up as high as they can. With federal interest rates decreasing, how can subprime lenders legally justify or even get away with their INCREASING their rates. These companies loaned money to individuals that the lenders could have told right from the information at closing could not possibly afford the payments once the interest rate became variable.

As far as you "The Answer", I put my name on these because I DO know what my mortgage note says and I also effectively communicate in writing.

Here is an answer for YOU....If you "schedule" a payment online, you will not receive the automated phone calls after the first.

Now, please, is there someone in the legal profession that can give us some helpful advice on how to stop CitiResidential from holding us responsible to pay taxes in ADVANCE!!!

Lisa MIllwood

Ms. Millwood. Why are you on the attack at my response? You can either take the info or move on.

As far as the legal info is concerned, that may have been more help before a signature was but on the note. In the future, if you can afford the $300+ for a lawyer. You may want to get one when you guys decide to refi your loans. especially if you don't understand all the paerwork. Check out your city community development office or local library. Sometimes they have seminars/info sessions on mortgages and real estate law, that lawyers attend.

P.s. Ms. Millwood...no need to give me answers on my payment schedule, but thanks anyway.

OK. I totally see where you are coming from, BUT if taxes were OVERPAID, all you have to do is contact your county, request a refund for the excess amount, which BY LAW has to be given. If you actually READ your loan contract, it states if you go delinquent on your prop taxes, the lender HAS TO pay them b/c until your prop is PAID IN FULL, it technically still belongs to the lender b/c you owe them & if you get a lien on the prop, you can lose your home anyway and the city can PUBLICALLY release that info in your local newspaper. WAKE UP this mortgage situation is definitely the fault of predatory lending but if people actually READ their loan docs B4 getting signature happy, they would know what they were getting into. THIS IS NOT A $3000.00 LIMIT CREDIT CARD, IT IS A 30YR INVESTMENT FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. IT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TAKEN LIGHTLY AND IT'S THE FAULT OF THE LENDER AS WELL AS THE BORROWER FOR NOT BEING MORE CAUTIOUS WITH SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT!!!!!!

ALSO: if the taxes were DELINQUENT that were paid, you can call Citi Res Lending and request them to spread the delinquent amount over a 36month period, so basically you can pay back delinquent taxes over a 3year period as opposed to the one yr per that is causing such an increase in the payment!!! Truse me, I know

@ The Answer: You are correct. The reason why I am annonymous is b/c I used to work for Citi Res Lending and we can get into trouble for negatively giving info about the comp. It sounds crazy but we had to take compliance test about privacy, yada-yada-yada... anyway... People forget that Citi Res didn't give them the loans, Ameriquest or AMC did. Citi Res bought out those comps and until the Gov and your beloved Pres Bush steps in, we BY LAW & FDCPA (Federal Debt Collections Practices Act of 1978, look it up) HAVE TO honor your signed loan contracts, once again, that you signed for. When Ameriquest/AMC refi'd or gave you your loans and you got a massive cash out, new pool, kitchen remodeled, etc.., no one complained then. You have to understand that this is why you got and adjustable rate and not fixed. As far as the Bush int rt freeze letters, NO MORTGAGE company has control over the qualifications!! It's solely up to the gov't. If you watched the conference Bush gave a couple of weeks ago about how we are NOT in a recession, he will continually state that the freeze is to help customers who already had good credit. Our office got the qualifications and your score had to be like 700+, no previous credit lates and you 1st int rate chage had to be after 1/1/2008. This eliminated most of the people who actually need help. Take it from a previous debt collector: if you don't want them call you- fax or mail in a signed letter saying "Don't not call my (home,busn,cell#)

Got a "lil" type happy. Sorry about all the typos

To anymous who use to work for Citi-Residential\. Why do they never call people back. I have tried numerous times and left messages. My company just recently announced that they are closing the doors. I have been trying to desperately get someone to return my calls to avoid my home to go into foreclosure. As i have been reading from others those return calls never happen. Being a previous employee of this crappy Mortgage Company what do you suggest!

This has also happened to me. Except, before Citi took over my mortgage, I took out a tax loan to pay my property taxes so they would not become delinquet. The loan has never been in default. However, when Citi discovered this, they paid the loan off and demanded payment plus escrow. Although the repayment spread the amount over 36 months, the repayment plus the escrow totaled an extra $1200 per month on top of my mortgage payment. I am in an arm so the total cost is almost $3000. Also, I did not receive any warning that this was going to happen.

I have taken in a room mate and a part-time job to cover. Coming off of a divorce and a single mom, this is not easy. I have been able to make my payments on time and am planning to refinance with a reputable financial organization as soon as possible.

Citi Residential most likely will go out of business with this sort of business practice. I would encourage anyone to avoid doing business with this company. I didn't have a choice as my mortgage was bought out by them. However, I will not be refinancing with them.

Good luck everyone.