From the buyers perspective, this may be what the title ins comes down to, but believe me, if the title co or Atty ends up paying this, they will come after you or your company for recovery of funds, plus any fees. They will have a slam dunk case for it too.
You may discuss with the title co or Atty telling them that you just don’t have it to pay. The Atty or Co should pay this to get the deal done, but that doesn’t make them responsible for the error.
Try to keep in mind how you would feel as the Buyer if this happened… Who’s responsibility would paying the taxes be…? Of course not the Buyers. You also surely signed an affidavit at closing that stated that if there were ANY ommissions or errors that you would agree to cooperate for their resolution… This ERROR falls into that category, unfortunately.
We closed the sale of this particular property three weeks ago.
I just got an e-mail from the title co., telling me that the recordings were returned due to unpaid taxes.
'06 taxes were on the HUD, '05 were not.
To be honest, I just scanned the HUD, the numbers looked right, and I signed off between a barrage of phone calls (I prefer to keep busy while the buyer signs the loan package).
Title rep claims that the assessor’s website showed them as paid, but they were not.
Now, even I know that if you really want the facts, that you have to double-check what’s online, and the entry page on the website warns you that the information may not be accurate and isn’t guaranteed.
Isn’t this what we get title insurance for???
Anyway, the profit’s been divvied up, and I’ve got every last nickel that I don’t need to live on already re-invested.
They’re telling me that I need to pay the taxes ASAP.
Posted by David Krulac on May 25, 2006 at 06:13:09:
title insurance does not cover this, bite the bullet, pay the taxes and move on. Life’s too short. You’ll make the buyer happy and what you pay is tax deductable. If its short term that could be as high as 35% Federal and whatever your state income tax is. Plus FICA 15.3%. Your true costs could be under 50% of the bill.
Posted by Kristine-CA on May 24, 2006 at 15:53:36:
This has happened to us several times with property taxes–either paid
incorrectly or not paid, or double-paid. Title insurance covers
recorded docs–not incorrect payments to lenders and municipalities.
It’s a mistake on their part–bad customer service, to be sure–but it’s
your debt.
If you don’t pay, you are leaving a problem for the buyer. If the buyer
comes after the title company, the title company will come after you.
In good faith and to keep things simple, the taxes need to paid.
Kristine