Mortgage broker missed county taxes and insurance

[Travis Wylie]

I'm writing on behalf of my brother and sister in law to get some feedback from the BP family. Here's the story: My brother and wife bought a house in Dillsburg, PA almost 2 years ago. They just received a bill from their lender (Wells Fargo) for over $2,200. When they looked into things deeper they found out that they are short $1,200 in county taxes and the mortgage broker never factored in their homeowners insurance either. The ironic thing was on their closing date they were told that their mortgage would be $100 less, but when they got this bill they looked at their HUD and realized that this $100 was for county taxes. It seems like the only thing they've been paying in escrow is the PMI. It sounds like both the mortgage broker and title insurance agent dropped the ball on this. Is there any type of recourse my brother and sister in law can take? They mentioned that they could put them on a payment plan, but that would increase their mortgage payment over $400 for the next year.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!!

[Russell Brazil]

I hate to say it, but it sounds like your brother dropped the ball. He should have been paying attention as to whether the taxes and insurance were being escrowed, as well as paid. Not every loan escrows for those items.