[justgettingby]

My Crew, on 09 June 2011 - 08:23 AM, said:

www.gaassessors.com

I can only find the 2010 assessments on that site.

[chickadee]

Ours dropped again this year but not near as much as last years... in the last few years we've dropped almost $60,000!

[TabbyCat]

On the upside..if there is one?

Last year our taxes went UP, and so I paid more monthly for the mortgage. I contested the increase, but my mortgage company had some artificially inflated percentage by which your taxes increased to calculate your loss and, based on that, your amount of overpayment on the loan.

So, I had no choice but to pay monthly the increased amount they charged me. NO. CHOICE.

A couple of weeks ago, I get this $1,700 check from my mortgage company for overpayment into my escrow account this past year.

Seriously? I called them and TOLD them the monthly mortgage payment didn't match the assessment, and yet, *I* was wrong in even asking them, and I paid more over the course of a year into an escrow account that couldn't NOT be effected by the drop in the valuation of my home.

So, while it was pretty cool to get a $1,700 check back from over payment into my escrow account this last year, I think it would have been preferable to NOT have overpaid for that year, and most especially if they had listened to me about the home's value in the first place.

I'm not into the "mortgage escrow" method of money management. At least if I had decided where that $1,700 went over the last year, I could have at least been earning interest on my $$$.

This post has been edited by TabbyCat: 09 June 2011 - 11:06 PM

[Animal]

I got mine and was shocked,out of 1,800.00 1,200.00 was school taxes, I don't have any kids in school. At what age do you not have to pay school taxes?

[naturegirl]

TabbyCat, on 09 June 2011 - 11:02 PM, said:

On the upside..if there is one?

Last year our taxes went UP, and so I paid more monthly for the mortgage. I contested the increase, but my mortgage company had some artificially inflated percentage by which your taxes increased to calculate your loss and, based on that, your amount of overpayment on the loan.

So, I had no choice but to pay monthly the increased amount they charged me. NO. CHOICE.

A couple of weeks ago, I get this $1,700 check from my mortgage company for overpayment into my escrow account this past year.

Seriously? I called them and TOLD them the monthly mortgage payment didn't match the assessment, and yet, *I* was wrong in even asking them, and I paid more over the course of a year into an escrow account that couldn't NOT be effected by the drop in the valuation of my home.

So, while it was pretty cool to get a $1,700 check back from over payment into my escrow account this last year, I think it would have been preferable to NOT have overpaid for that year, and most especially if they had listened to me about the home's value in the first place.

I'm not into the "mortgage escrow" method of money management. At least if I had decided where that $1,700 went over the last year, I could have at least been earning interest on my $$.

Or you could have spent it thereby stimulating the economy.

[katcol]

stbarts, on 07 June 2011 - 11:17 AM, said:

Don't have mine yet .

But I got an income tax return , and I went to the court house to see if I could pay towards my house taxes. I had atleast half .
I was told I couldn't . I have to wait until November .

I'm so worried I'll spend that money before then

Try putting it in a super secret savings account. I used to put stuff like that in the credit union so that I'd be very inconvenienced to get it out. Now we have brances out here, though.

[katcol]

HappyToBe, on 07 June 2011 - 01:46 PM, said:

Mine dropped over 10% in value, which is great for property tax. The problem I see is that if the house burned down, I can't rebuild it for the insurance amount.

That is an excellent point!

[The Sound Guy]

TabbyCat, on 09 June 2011 - 11:02 PM, said:

I'm not into the "mortgage escrow" method of money management. At least if I had decided where that $1,700 went over the last year, I could have at least been earning interest on my $$$.

Yea, same here, mortgage escrow is one of the biggest legalized fraud schemes out there IMHO...

My company always calculates my escrow in August, based on the taxes from the year before. So last year's tax drop of $450 because of the value drop wasn't included. Add that to the legal theft of funds that they are allowed to adjust the account so that the balance never drops below *two months* of escrow payments. That two month minimum means that they keep over $900 of my money year round, interest free. Then I figure we have close to $600 extra dollars in the account by now on top of the two months payments because of the tax over estimate meaning $1500 of my money that is not needed to pay the bills is sitting in their bank.

Multiply that by all the mortgages they have and it's quite a racket...

What really ticks me off is the year that our taxes jumped so much, after the tax bill *they* did a unrequested readjustment in November and raised the escow to cover it and added a "shortage" adjustment for the months of Aug-Oct adding insult to injury.

But when taxes go down, do they do that? No..... They have gladly kept all my money.

[D-Cinco]

The Sound Guy, on 10 June 2011 - 08:55 AM, said:

Yea, same here, mortgage escrow is one of the biggest legalized fraud schemes out there IMHO...

My company always calculates my escrow in August, based on the taxes from the year before. So last year's tax drop of $450 because of the value drop wasn't included. Add that to the legal theft of funds that they are allowed to adjust the account so that the balance never drops below *two months* of escrow payments. That two month minimum means that they keep over $900 of my money year round, interest free. Then I figure we have close to $600 extra dollars in the account by now on top of the two months payments because of the tax over estimate meaning $1500 of my money that is not needed to pay the bills is sitting in their bank.

Multiply that by all the mortgages they have and it's quite a racket...

What really ticks me off is the year that our taxes jumped so much, after the tax bill *they* did a unrequested readjustment in November and raised the escow to cover it and added a "shortage" adjustment for the months of Aug-Oct adding insult to injury.

But when taxes go down, do they do that? No..... They have gladly kept all my money.

Ah, this is what happened to us last year! So they use the previous years tax amount to figure out what you need to have for the coming year? Great. Last year our taxes were $1500 and this year they are $1100. So I guess they will keep all that extra money in our account? This is an absolute scam to me!

[justgettingby]

That is why I opted for NO escrow when I took out my last mortgage. It's so much easier to pay my own taxes and insurance.

[D-Cinco]

I just figured up our escrow account and when everything is paid and leaving the required "balance" in the account, at the end of the year we will have over an $800 surplus. Can you call your mortgage company and request an escrow re-evaluation after everything is paid? Are they required by law to refund any extra money if you request it?

Looking at last years escrow analysis it appears they did it in September BEFORE they actually had to pay our taxes and they based it on our previous years taxes. So of course when our taxes ended up being more in November they immediately upped our payment. So if they re-analyze it in September again basing it on last years payment it is going to be way over what we need.

[Gone]

Mortgage on my house in 99 for $89,900.

Last year fair market value-71,200

This year-60,000

Estimated taxes 750

[PUBBY]

D-Cinco, on 10 June 2011 - 12:24 PM, said:

I just figured up our escrow account and when everything is paid and leaving the required "balance" in the account, at the end of the year we will have over an $800 surplus. Can you call your mortgage company and request an escrow re-evaluation after everything is paid? Are they required by law to refund any extra money if you request it?

Looking at last years escrow analysis it appears they did it in September BEFORE they actually had to pay our taxes and they based it on our previous years taxes. So of course when our taxes ended up being more in November they immediately upped our payment. So if they re-analyze it in September again basing it on last years payment it is going to be way over what we need.

They will refund the money you overpaid this year in a nice big check and they'll do the same. Since they don't pay you interest on the escrow, they consider whatever interest they earn on your money in escrow, part of their profit picture. They do the recalculation annually because of law, btw; or else they'd just hold it in escrow for years and just earn the interest and settle the account when the mortgage was retired.

You can try and communicate with the mortgage service over the short term and ask them to recalculate based on projected taxes but I would be surprised if they would as they will rely on the taxes due last time taxes were paid. Bottom line they benefit from the float.

pubby

[Blondiega1]

stbarts, on 08 June 2011 - 09:11 AM, said:

Let's vote & pray that things get better in the next few years

Best advice I've read.

My Crew, on 09 June 2011 - 08:23 AM, said:

www.gaassessors.com

CHEESE-N-RICE!!!
There's a lot of S's in that website name!!

This post has been edited by Blondiega1: 10 June 2011 - 04:27 PM

[peachesga]

justgettingby, on 09 June 2011 - 09:41 PM, said:

I can only find the 2010 assessments on that site.

thats correct

Animal, on 10 June 2011 - 06:33 AM, said:

I got mine and was shocked,out of 1,800.00 1,200.00 was school taxes, I don't have any kids in school. At what age do you not have to pay school taxes?

I dont have any kids in school either. The idea is "for the good of the county" - "to have a well-educated society"

Animal, on 10 June 2011 - 06:33 AM, said:

At what age do you not have to pay school taxes?

I think 72 in Paulding

The Sound Guy, on 10 June 2011 - 08:55 AM, said:

Yea, same here, mortgage escrow is one of the biggest legalized fraud schemes out there IMHO...

You didnt have to take the loan from them. Its just like any other contract. Not fraud in any way.

D-Cinco, on 10 June 2011 - 12:24 PM, said:

Are they required by law to refund any extra money if you request it?

NO

[crazy4u]

Mine went down $3,000. much better than last year. Only 3 more years and the dang thing will be paid off. Thank goodness!

[Spitfire]

Ours decreased by about 10k.

[Greatma]

Animal, on 10 June 2011 - 06:33 AM, said:

I got mine and was shocked,out of 1,800.00 1,200.00 was school taxes, I don't have any kids in school. At what age do you not have to pay school taxes?

At 65 you pay half of school tax, at 70 you don't pay any.

[workingforaliving]

I'm hoping that the decrease in my tax bill will balance out the insane increase in my homeowners insurance when it renewed.

[NY Gal]

Mine has dropped almost $100,000 since I moved in. That's the amount I put down, so I don't have much equity anymore. O, the plus side, my taxes were only $960 last year, as opposed to the $8,000 I was paying on my house in NY.

Guess I am living here until I die. Good thing I love it!

[NoFacedName]

hornetmom, on 07 June 2011 - 05:52 PM, said:

Ours went down $22,100. My house is now worth $20k less than it was when I bought it in 2000.

Jet_man1969, on 08 June 2011 - 08:08 AM, said:

My value dropped another 15,400 dollars and is down 69,500 dollars from what I paid for the house 5 years ago.

PUBBY, on 08 June 2011 - 11:11 AM, said:

One bright thing about lowered assessments is that the house really didn't change. It is the same house, just a year older.

Tabby: Like you, the value of my house here has dropped right at $56,000 from its peak valuation in 2009. The good news is that the tax bill and mortgage payment will also drop so there is less out-go associated with it.

Needless to say, the mortgage is greater than the 'value' but that is far from uncommon here. But looking on the plus side, if this were a stock market 'investment' instead of a house, they'd have called the margin on the thing and It'd sucked up all my cash first and then left me broke As it is, paper net worth is all that is really suffering.

pubby

We bought our house at the end of 2008. Since then, the total value of our house dropped $135,000+.

[D-Cinco]

workingforaliving, on 11 June 2011 - 09:18 PM, said:

I'm hoping that the decrease in my tax bill will balance out the insane increase in my homeowners insurance when it renewed.

This is the bill I am dreading this summer! I remember reading some companies were going to increase rates by 23%. I am cautiously estimating a $200 increase and hope I am pleasantly surprised with less than that, but I'm not holding my breath.

[stbarts]

They said on the news yeaterday that home values will continue to drop .

But I still like being a homeowner .
I was raised in Chicago and never lived in a house.
We always lived in apartments .
I did not live in a house until I got married when I was 28 .
So I am hopeing we can hang on to what we have .
It is important for me to have a home for my almost grown children. And always have a place for them to come to - to call home .

[Beach Bum]

stbarts, on 12 June 2011 - 11:54 AM, said:

They said on the news yeaterday that home values will continue to drop .

But I still like being a homeowner .
I was raised in Chicago and never lived in a house.
We always lived in apartments .
I did not live in a house until I got married when I was 28 .
So I am hopeing we can hang on to what we have .
It is important for me to have a home for my almost grown children. And always have a place for them to come to - to call home .

This is about the most intelligent, well-thought out post I have ever read on p.com. You have your priorities in order!

[momof 3]

mei lan, on 07 June 2011 - 01:54 PM, said:

Best be talkin' to your insurance agent. The amount insured should be the amount it would cost to REPLACE IT, not what it originally cost or what it is worth at the moment.

Ours is REPLACEMENT INS. We also had replacement ins when we were renters. It was worth every cent of that $9.00 a month when our house was struck by lightening and they replaced all the phones, 3 TVs, a microwave, 2 vcr's, etc.

[mei lan]

momof 3, on 12 June 2011 - 03:37 PM, said:

Ours is REPLACEMENT INS. We also had replacement ins when we were renters. It was worth every cent of that $9.00 a month when our house was struck by lightening and they replaced all the phones, 3 TVs, a microwave, 2 vcr's, etc.

Hmmm...ever notice how much we think alike?

[crazy4u]

I will ususally take the check the mortgage company sends me and send it back and have them apply it to the principal. What I don't have I won't miss and it helps to pay it down quicker.

[Inspector Callahan]

Mine stayed the same. If it ever catches fire, do not call the Fire Department. I'll come out way ahead. It would not be rebuilt.
Hopefully, it will be paid off by the end of next year. That's our goal and then it will truly be an investment.

[rednekkhikkchikk]

House went up, land went down. Overall decrease of $2700. Since my insurance this year will be about twice what it was last year, I won't complain if my property tax stays the same or only increases minimally.

[The Sound Guy]

rednekkhikkchikk, on 15 June 2011 - 05:02 PM, said:

House went up, land went down. Overall decrease of $2700. Since my insurance this year will be about twice what it was last year, I won't complain if my property tax stays the same or only increases minimally.

Don't get me started on home insurance. No claims and I'm paying almost three times what I was paying in 2000. It's crazy.

[justgettingby]

All my neighbors in Cobb stayed the same exceot for ours. THey had to put our fair market value at what we just paid for it. So we get a property tax break for one year.

[Rell]

Ours dropped $70,000 in value but the taxes are about the same.

[JBrigman]

Anyone know the deadline to dispute your bill?