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On April 18, 2018, my father passed away. Along with having no life insurance on himself, he didn't have my name on the house that he was paying the mortgage on and the same goes with the cars that he owned. From the day of his death to midway through May 2019, I was paying the mortgage and living in the house; everyone was telling me to leave my father's name on the mortgage to avoid me having to take out a second mortgage to get on it and to avoid needing to take out another loan for the house. I took their advice and it's landed me in this little hardship.
Midway through May 2019, I received a notice that my mortgage payments were going up, from $602.42 to $1018.29. I've checked the two pieces of mail that I received and both say it's due to an Escrow shortage caused by the property taxes, which my father never had to pay as he was sending in forms for Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled.
I've been consistently paying $602.42 every month since my father's passing and haven't been told a thing regarding any shortages. Everyone's actually been quite praising of me keeping the mortgage up to date (at the time of his death, my father was behind 2 mortgage payments, which I paid in full).
My father bought the house in 2011. He received help from the VA, as he was a veteran. Both he, I, and my younger sister, who lives with me and who I've lived with my whole life, are disabled. Paying $1018.29 a month will almost definitely not be a possibility for me or my sister, so I'm wondering if I could possibly refinance the mortgage to get its payments down to a much more manageable number.
I'm at a loss for what to do here, which is why I'm here. Thanks for any and all help; it's greatly appreciated.
If you haven't probated his estate yet do so. Call legal aid in your area if can't you afford a lawyer. Without the house in your name you have zero options. You should also call the tax assessor to see if there are property tax deductions for people with disabilities and homestead exemptions. They'll be able to tell you. Neither of these will be available to you if you are not the listed owner. Refinancing might be worth it to get the monthly payments down but without detail we can't tell you. Need current interest, loan balance, and an idea of home value. Might also be worth you selling and buying something cheaper for cash.
On April 18, 2018, my father passed away. Along with having no life insurance on himself, he didn't have my name on the house that he was paying the mortgage on and the same goes with the cars that he owned. From the day of his death to midway through May 2019, I was paying the mortgage and living in the house; everyone was telling me to leave my father's name on the mortgage to avoid me having to take out a second mortgage to get on it and to avoid needing to take out another loan for the house. I took their advice and it's landed me in this little hardship.
Midway through May 2019, I received a notice that my mortgage payments were going up, from $602.42 to $1018.29. I've checked the two pieces of mail that I received and both say it's due to an Escrow shortage caused by the property taxes, which my father never had to pay as he was sending in forms for Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled.
I've been consistently paying $602.42 every month since my father's passing and haven't been told a thing regarding any shortages. Everyone's actually been quite praising of me keeping the mortgage up to date (at the time of his death, my father was behind 2 mortgage payments, which I paid in full).
My father bought the house in 2011. He received help from the VA, as he was a veteran. Both he, I, and my younger sister, who lives with me and who I've lived with my whole life, are disabled. Paying $1018.29 a month will almost definitely not be a possibility for me or my sister, so I'm wondering if I could possibly refinance the mortgage to get its payments down to a much more manageable number.
I'm at a loss for what to do here, which is why I'm here. Thanks for any and all help; it's greatly appreciated.
If you or and your sister are totally and permanently disabled you may qualify for the same tax assistance he had minus any extra he had for being a senior. Find out if the loan is assumable and you can take it over, otherwise if you and your sister want to live in the house and can't afford $500 each a month where do you plan to live? Good luck. Ask the bank if they have some kind of hardship exclusion that can help you, but if it's for taxes you need to ask your town or county for help or a hardship exclusion.
Otherwise if he bought in 2011 hopefully he bought when prices were low and if they have gone up you may be able to sell the house and buy a cheaper on somewhere else.
Good advice above. Sounds like once the state found out your father passed, his tax exemption went away. That caused the escrow shortage and mortgage payment to increase.
Speak to an attorney so you can get the house probated in your name.
Before you can decide if it makes sense to sell, refinance the mortgage, or attempt to assume the existing mortgage- you need to know: what the home is worth, what the mortgage balance is, interest rate, term, and if you will qualify for a tax exemption based on your disability.
Since the VA was helping your dad, it's possible this is a VA loan which may be assumable (meaning you wouldn't need to refinance, they will just allow you to take it over). otherwise, you may need to refinance to keep the home regardless of the tax rebate.
I just recently went to probate court and became the administrator of the estate (my father had a handwritten will but, due to it not being notarized prior to his decease, it's invalid, so the court had to appoint me in charge of the estate). I'm aware that the loan for the house was around $127,500 (VA took care of closing costs and etc, which brought it down to around $121,000). As of right now, the principal balance on the loan is $102,324.39; the interest rate is 3.750%. My father had a fixed rate loan of 30 years. I just recently got in a piece of mail too that says I need to pay an additional $802.44 for real estate tax, which I've never seen being mailed to my home before.
I just recently went to probate court and became the administrator of the estate (my father had a handwritten will but, due to it not being notarized prior to his decease, it's invalid, so the court had to appoint me in charge of the estate). I'm aware that the loan for the house was around $127,500 (VA took care of closing costs and etc, which brought it down to around $121,000). As of right now, the principal balance on the loan is $102,324.39; the interest rate is 3.750%. My father had a fixed rate loan of 30 years. I just recently got in a piece of mail too that says I need to pay an additional $802.44 for real estate tax, which I've never seen being mailed to my home before.
It seems that the property taxes are your biggest concern. You need to better determine the full tax amount and check to see whether you can get them reduced (e.g. special exemptions based on income or disability).
Refinancing--if you refinanced at the same rate--might only save you about $120/month so that doesn't seem to be the best option. There could be closing fees associated with refinancing that might set you back a bit, too. Good luck!
I just recently went to probate court and became the administrator of the estate (my father had a handwritten will but, due to it not being notarized prior to his decease, it's invalid, so the court had to appoint me in charge of the estate). I'm aware that the loan for the house was around $127,500 (VA took care of closing costs and etc, which brought it down to around $121,000). As of right now, the principal balance on the loan is $102,324.39; the interest rate is 3.750%. My father had a fixed rate loan of 30 years. I just recently got in a piece of mail too that says I need to pay an additional $802.44 for real estate tax, which I've never seen being mailed to my home before.
If you and your sister can't afford $1K a month you may need to move to a cheaper area with lower property taxes and try to find an older house there where you mortgage will be $600 a month. Hopefully the property has gone up in value, things have recovered since 2011 so you may be able to sell and have some money to put down on a house elsewhere. Hopefully that tax letter is related to what the bank already is telling you that you need to raise the escrow on. If you have a mortgage your bank is in charge of paying taxes and insurance thru your mortgage.
If you and your sister can't afford $1K a month you may need to move to a cheaper area with lower property taxes and try to find an older house there where you mortgage will be $600 a month. Hopefully the property has gone up in value, things have recovered since 2011 so you may be able to sell and have some money to put down on a house elsewhere. Hopefully that tax letter is related to what the bank already is telling you that you need to raise the escrow on. If you have a mortgage your bank is in charge of paying taxes and insurance thru your mortgage.
can't sell the house unless a few things are in order.
1. Court granted estate to him
2. Clear the path with the current mortgage lender (pay up outstanding bills, i.e. taxes)
Since the $ put into the house hasn't been more than 10% of the house value $102,324.39 from $121k, last resort is to walk away and let the bank owns it. This however, definitely needs a new place to live first.
very sorry for your loss, OP. Did your father have life insurance or any insurance at all that may be able to help with any cash coming in from death? This may not be humane but you and your sister need a place to live.
very sorry for your loss, OP. Did your father have life insurance or any insurance at all that may be able to help with any cash coming in from death? This may not be humane but you and your sister need a place to live.
My father did not have any types of insurances on himself when he died. He was in the process of getting my name on the house, on his cars, and on getting things straight with himself when he got sick (it was a very sudden and unexpected death that shocked everyone). My father was in the military from 1979 to 1981 before going into the reserves from 1981 to 1988. My sister and I have no family near us or any family period; it is just the two of us.
Might reread the letter on the increased payments. Your normal payment amount is about right in terms of mortgage plus some insurance. Doesn't appear to include property taxes which tend to be quite low for lower income seniors. $10-$20 a month for a middle income house that's been owned for decade isn't outside the realm of possibility. However, losing the over 65 and homestead caps and deductions can send the taxes skyrocketing. Even still it sounds like that $1000 payment might be one time thing to make up a partial year and now you got the bill for a full year.
Refinancing doesn't look to be advantageous for you so you want to talk to VA about assuming the loan. Once again talk to the property tax folks about what you qualify for. You might also check and see if the mortgage includes mortgage insurance and if the home is worth enough now to drop it(that'd save some money). If not sure how much since I've never done a VA loan or bought mortgage insurance but recall it can be $50-$150 a month.
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