Taxes paid on wrong house - WSVN 7News

(WSVN) - A South Florida man pays his mortgage, which includes money to cover his property taxes and insurance. Turns out, his lending company paid the taxes for another homeowner. Tonight's Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.

Amorization, APR, debt ratio, escrow account. All the words involved in a homeowners mortgage will make your head spin.

Good thing Hector's didn't.

Hector Mora: "Reason why the mortgage was going up."

Hector spotted the increase when he looked at his escrow account.

Hector Mora: "Which covers costs like the the homeowner's insurance, the hurricane insurance, and the county taxes."

Hector started making calls. The first to the county regarding his property taxes.

Hector Mora: "The county notified me that the mortgage company has not been paying the taxes for the past two years."

Hector had put about $12,000 into his escrow account to cover his property taxes.

Guess what the company servicing his mortgage did with that money?

Hector Mora: "They notified me that they've accidentally been paying the wrong account for the past two years."

The company, called LoanCare, got the money back from the other property owner. But still wanted Hector to pay another $12,000 to cover the interest and penalties on his taxes, and apparently increased insurance costs.

And they wanted it paid back within two years.

Hector Mora: "I am paying $500 a month additional for the next 24 months."

Hector thought he had a better idea.

Hector Mora: "Get that shortage and move it to the back end of a loan so that it doesn't affect me financially in any way. It's an easy fix."

The company said 'No, we want that money now, not later.' Not easy for a single father to do.

Hector Mora: "I'm being punished for something that was not my fault in any way, shape or form."

Well, Howard, the entire escrow business can get really complicated. So, legally, where does Hector stand?

Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: "The amount of mistakes by this company is stunning, and in Florida, they are financially responsible for any interest and penalties they created. However, Hector is responsible for the taxes and insurance he would normally pay. As far as how long he has to pay into the escrow account, you only get a year, but the servicing company can and should give him more time because they created the problem."

We contacted the company handling Hector's mortgage. LoanCare's attorney wrote "As I am sure you are aware, we can't discuss the matter with you due to privacy concerns."

But they did review Hector's account again.

Instead of the escrow account being $12,226, they found 2,000 missing dollars subtracted what Hector had paid before he contacted us and said he was now short $8,224.

And instead of having to pay it back over two years, he got five years, lowering the monthly cost from $511.11 to $137 a month.

Hector Mora: "I'm just shocked at how something that I've been trying to do for the past eight months, you guys were able to accomplish in one week."

The financial burden is lifted after Hector picked up his phone and called Help Me Howard.

Hector Mora: "I'm very impressed, and I'm very thankful."

Glad we got in touch with the right person for you. Now, if you have an escrow account, you might want to check to see if your taxes are being paid by your mortgage company. Because if they are not, you could lose your home. The links to check are under this story. A couple of minutes looking into it might save you an enormous headache.

A problem taxing you? Don't mortgage your future? Escrow us to see if we can build a little equity for you.

With this Help Me Howard, I'm Patrick Fraser, 7News.

More Information: County Taxes Miami-DadeCounty County Taxes Broward County

Email: Reporter: Patrick Fraser at Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN Broward: 954-761-WSVN