Mortgage W an Escrow for Property Tax

[bjornenolejonet]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: NY. Sold the house that was jointly owned with ex spouse. The property taxes was paid with the mortgage payments each month which I was responsible for. At the closing we got the buy off quote from the bank. I was responsible for paying the final interest on that pay off quote. My question is pertaining to the property tax. The attorney calculated a per diem from July 1 until closing date of October 21 and charged me for that. He is asking me to give him a check for the amount which in return will be given to the ex spouse. But wouldn't tax already have been paid by me to the bank? Why am I to "double" pay this tax? Am I completely misunderstanding this? Thank you!

[budwad]

When you make mortgage payments that also include property taxes, part of your payment goes to the mortgage and part goes into escrow to pay the property taxes. Paying off the mortgage likely didn't include anything for the tax escrow. Your not paying double.

Ask your closing attorney.

[flyingron]

Some locations collect property tax in advance and some in arrears. So in the case of the latter, you still owe money up until the closing. If you have been paying a mortgage that includes an escrow impound, there should be an accounting of what remains in there (usually, they collect toward the upcoming property tax payment). It's possible that while you owe the tax now (because the attorney doesn't have access to the escrow impound), you will get the impound money back. Often the escrow impound comes back separate from the loan satisfaction itself. You should contact the bank and the attorney for the details.

[Zigner]

Some locations collect property tax in advance and some in arrears. So in the case of the latter, you still owe money up until the closing. If you have been paying a mortgage that includes an escrow impound, there should be an accounting of what remains in there (usually, they collect toward the upcoming property tax payment). It's possible that while you owe the tax now (because the attorney doesn't have access to the escrow impound), you will get the impound money back. Often the escrow impound comes back separate from the loan satisfaction itself. You should contact the bank and the attorney for the details.

Yes, this. In every refi I've done, the money in the escrow impound account was returned to me after closing by way of a check from the mortgage servicer.

[bcr229]

Yes, this. In every refi I've done, the money in the escrow impound account was returned to me after closing by way of a check from the mortgage servicer.

I actually just received an escrow refund due to a refinance. The check had both my name and my spouse's name since we were both on the mortgage. So, hopefully OP has an order somewhere stating that while the funds belong to the OP, the ex must sign the refund check so that the OP can deposit it.

[bjornenolejonet]

Thank you, you all explained it very well and clear.