Talk of The Villages Florida - Purchase of Pre-owned home but cheated by Title company who miscalculated tax

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Purchase of Pre-owned home but cheated by Title company who miscalculated tax (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/purchase-pre-owned-home-but-cheated-title-company-who-miscalculated-tax-313982/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayhawk (Post 1873008)

Think back to your post in June where you just bought the house. Remember your excitement at the deal you got? And estimated taxes are just that - estimated based on best available information. Take some time to reflect on your good fortune and enjoy. It's not like anyone went out of their way to cheat you. Peace.

Let me update you all since I started this post. I came up (from South Florida) on June 6, on Day 3 of a 2 week stay, I found my house (believe me I looked at tons, mostly just open houses so I didn't have to really deal with realtors. Anyway, it wasn't the model or the type or even location that I thought I wanted to live but I loved the neighborhood, and loved the house. It was a preowned TV properties, I did get a steal. Its in Pine Hills and is a designer built in 2017. The previous owner also paid cash and are you ready...........paid off the bond!!!! It was really only lived in about 10 months over the three years and never rented. It looks brand new and the owner replaced the carpet with hard wood (which was always on my checklist) I think in November. It was priced to sell quick and i did offer him under which he accepted.

Let’s see in June you got a steal.......so who got cheated at that time??

Quote:

Originally Posted by trekker954 (Post 1872978)

I wasn't sure where to post this to get some insight into my recent purchase here in TV. Problem: I purchased a pre-owned home in June 2020 through the Villages Property using their title company. It was an open house so the realtor got his double commission. During this time, everything for me, a cash buyer (the seller owned the house outright which he bought in Feb. 2019) was to be done electronically including the closing documents, because of Covid. My closing costs seemed minimal. I was credited $1441 for 2020 Taxes from the seller. I am not using my homestead as I still have a home in South Florida for a few more months.

Fast forward to receiving my tax bill which was well over $5000. First I called the title company who said the value of my house increased and told me they used the sellers 2019 tax bill for me and he benefited from his sellers homestead for 2019. Lake County told me my seller had never applied for Homestead (he had a home in PA) so of course his taxes went up in January, but the Title company did not go to their website or call the office to make sure they had the correct estimated tax bill for the seller.

So of course the Title Co rep is no longer with the company but after checking they more or less admitted fault because they sent the seller a letter explaining the error in not collecting enough for me and kindly asked them to make a check out to me for $590 and send it to them and they would forward to me. Well, the seller told them to go pound sand that he felt he lost money on the deal as it was (as a snowbird, he lived in the house such a short time in 2019, and pretty much decided to sell it in February (although not listed until June) because of Covid.

The Title Company came back and said I could always get a lawyer and sue him. Yes thats what the Title Company said. I've never been to small claims court, but I'm assuming that is my only option and I have no idea how much that would cost and if I do have a case. I was copied on the letter the Title Company sent to the seller as well as his response. Does the realtor have any responsibility? He is aware as is his manager and they are supposedly still looking into how this happened.

Obviously who gets an attorney for such a small amount, but had the Title company applied the correct amount the seller would just have credited it the correct amount to me. If a suit is to be had, wouldn't I go after the Title Company. I'm just annoyed they were so lazy as not to call or go on the website to get the correct amount for the 2020 taxes. So I end up paying for my sellers taxes all year rather than just six month.

Life isn’t always fair. We bought a beautiful vacation lake house in Georgia and the contractor who was supposed to build our screened in deck skipped out with our $5,000 deposit. He had an A+ rating with the BBB. Before we could file in magistrates court the contractor filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with creditors owed over $500,000. So in the grand scheme of things our loss wasn’t too much and we have a beautiful lake house to enjoy. Just chalk it up to experience. I’m surprised The Villages would use such a careless title company.

OP, it appears economically you got a great deal on this house. Your choice is to sue the seller or not. What I would do in this situation doesn’t matter, having said that, looking at the entire transaction I would buy my wife a very nice Christmas present and call it a done deal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 1873006)

I have to take issue with the statement that the OP wasn't cheated by anyone. The seller owes him $590 and refuses to pay him.

This should have been covered under the title company's errors and omissions agreement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henryk (Post 1873054)

This should have been covered under the title company's errors and omissions agreement.

If the title company made an error or omission, which it doesn't appear that they did. The taxes paid at closing were an estimate, which is the standard way to do it.

I have sued a title company in Florida. It is under 8k so small claims, cost 340.00.

But don't waste your time you inevitably signed a statement that you would hold them harmless or there is ample case law to support the title company.

My suit was not about taxes like your and I did prevail.

Sorry to hear about the turn of events for you. I understand that you feel cheated. Let's consider what is involved in going after $590 in a court. The court fees have been mentioned above as well as the fact that the taxes are estimated. Obviously if you lose, you are out even more money. With that you will feel even angrier. Then there is the emotional cost which comes from dealing with someone in court. Even if you win, you will pay a cost 1) in keeping this issue alive and in front of you for next few months and 2) when you arrive in court. For me, I would follow a more Zen approach and funnel your emotion into something much more positive. If you got an otherwise great deal and you love the neighborhood, then build on that to have great retirement. Also, I personally like the suggestion of buying your wife a nice gift. You both come out ahead on that one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayhawk (Post 1873008)

And BAM. And now worried about $590. Uh, yea. I'm moving along. Nothing to see here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 1873037)

I don't see where they made an error. The taxes can only be estimated at the closing, and either the buyer or the seller needs to pay additional taxes when the tax bill is generated. In June 2020, the projected tax bill had not been prepared by the county, so the title company had to estimate the taxes due by each party. This is the normal way to do it.

Because the seller was only in this house a short time, in 2019 he basically was given a lesser tax bill based on his sellers homestead tax bill. The Lake County tax collector explained it to me and basically said the Title company really need to check and can plug things into the county tax website for the accurate number rather than rely on the previous years. The county had already removed the homestead for this house because it wasn't carrying over from 2019 since the house was sold in 2019 to my seller. So right there the estimate the title company gave based on the 2019 bill was going to be $50000 less rather than more and the house only increased about 15000. Yes, the title company did me wrong, they asked the seller for $590. I should not have to pay my sellers tax bill no matter how nice a deal I felt I received. Actually, after seeing many Jasmines under $300000, maybe I didn't get such a great deal afterall. Thanks for all the comments. And I've always been aware of the expected tax bills. I also own a home in Broward County. I guess I didn't realized I pay Lake county, The Villages, plus Fruitland Park. yikes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 1873058)

If the title company made an error or omission, which it doesn't appear that they did. The taxes paid at closing were an estimate, which is the standard way to do it.

How do you see the title company did not make an error, when they in fact sent a letter to the seller asking him to cut a check to me and send it through their office. Isn't that a clear admission of a mistake they made in calculation?

I've gone to small claims court and won, so you can do it. That said, for $590, is it really worth all the aggravation and time given the great deal that you got on the house?

If it's really important to you, then go for it. Otherwise, take a deep breath and let it go, just take it as a piece of bad luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trekker954 (Post 1873069)

No response to other posts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by trekker954 (Post 1873069)

When I have purchased a resale, the taxes are estimated and prorated, but they cannot be exact because the current year tax rates have not been established by the county. So, when the actual final tax bill is received, either the buyer or the seller will owe the other party some taxes. This doesn't happen with a new house because the builder covers any tax shortage. That is the way I have seen it done on houses I have purchased. It seems as though the seller owes you $590 and it is too bad that they will not pay you. I wouldn't go to extreme measures to collect it, but I would do what I can to try to collect the money. The seller is the one who is cheating you, not the title company. Maybe you can get a lawyer to send a demand letter to the seller that may get him to pay you. I have not done a small claims court case, but it should be easy to get a judgement against the seller because the title company has already established what the seller owes you. If you get a judgement, a lawyer can electronically seize assets from any bank account that the seller owns. My opinion. Good luck.

Actual wording from the title company.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilyclub (Post 1873110)

Actual wording from the title company.

Exactly. The title company is not responsible because they based the proration on an estimate of the taxes and both the seller and the buyer agreed to it, and to also make an adjustment when the final tax bill is available. Apparently, the seller owes the buyer $590 toward the 2020 tax bill. So, the only party who owes money here is the seller. Whether or not the buyer got a good price on the house is irrelevant.