3

We sold a home in March 2014. The lawyer who drew up the closing paperwork did it incorrectly and only charged us $900 for property taxes.
The actual bill came out to $2400 for 2013. The current homeowners have requested we pay them the $1500 difference, which we are not disputing that we owe.

We only want legal documentation of the difference. We are not comfortable writing a check that large without a legal document signed etc.

They have only provided us documents that state, 'not intended for legal purposes'. Is it unreasonable for us to ask for a legal document, perhaps from the title company that drew up the original closing papers? I have a hard time believing that previous homeowners just write a check to the current homeowners for whatever they say is due. How is this situation typically resolved?

Improve this question
5
  • You sold and settled in March 2014. When was the 2013 bill generated, and how did it compare to previous years? The country/state might also be important.
    – mhoran_psprep
    Commented Jun 24, 2015 at 12:43
  • 1
    It was in Indiana. The issue is that the lawyer who did the closing said we could have the homestead exemption on two homes at once and she was wrong. We bought a new home August 15, 2013. I k is we owe the difference but I would just like official documentation of the amount due. How is this typically done? I can't seem to get that question answered. I don't trust them and don't feel bad should have to take the homeowners word as to how much we owe. I feel the title company should be involved and submitting us a bill. A legal document/bill. That we pay to them, not directly to the nr
    – Janice
    Commented Jun 24, 2015 at 16:12
  • That we pay directly to the title company or the new home owners bank. Not directly to the new homeowners. I am not comfortable writing a huge check to people I don't trust, without any legal documented proof. How is this usually handled?
    – Janice
    Commented Jun 24, 2015 at 16:20
  • I know that no one trust one another these days and have a VERY hard time believing that people just write checks to previous homeowners for what ever they say is due for taxes.
    – Janice
    Commented Jun 24, 2015 at 16:21
  • How can I make this legit and legal and be sure I won't have to pay them again in the future because they said they never were paid?
    – Janice
    Commented Jun 24, 2015 at 16:21

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

It appears that a mistake was made involving interpretation of the law. The new homeowner should be complaining to the settlement company. The settlement company will of course like to pass the bill on to you. But you will have to decide if it is worth it to fight it.

I was in a similar situation. The settlement company several months after the settlement claimed that a mistake was made in the paperwork, and they threatened to cancel the sale if I didn't fork over several hundred dollars to fix the issue. I asked for proof. They claimed that a required settlement item didn't appear on the HUD-1 form. After several rounds of letters they gave me a deadline and requested either cash or a cashiers check. I still didn't understand and on the appointed day I asked them to review the form line-by-line. It turns out that the issue was a number that is normally positive, was instead a negative. When it was corrected it turns out I was owed money. I of course insisted on cash.

The lesson is ask for the proof from the settlement company. They were in charge of all the paperwork.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Definitely go through the folks who handled closing. That's basically their entire purpose in this whole ordeal.
    – Joe
    Commented Jun 24, 2015 at 16:56

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .