[bobo911]

I have recently declared bankruptcy. My husband hasn't. We just got a notice in the mail stating a refined payment notice on our fixed mortgage that we've had for 2 years. Apparently upon getting the mortgage 2years ago someone messed up and quoted us wrong on our taxes. They were too low, and they want their back money and thus higher mortgage from then on because our taxes are included in our mortgage. We were paying $37.73 every 2 weeks, now they want $1888.00 in back taxes and our taxes every 2 weeks from now on are 155.00 vs 37.73. I think its wrong, it wasn't our mistake. Had we known the taxes were going to be that high we wouldn't have bought the house. It changes everything. The royal bank did this!

My question is can they do this? It was there mistake. We were not given all the proper information when buying this house.

Our neighbor is selling his house, we looked it up on line. Fabulous house. 5 brms, 3 baths, inground pool, 3 levels, brand new dble garage, 9 acres of land. His taxes are lower than ares before the hike. Are house is nice, but not finished and does need some repairs. We only have 3 acres of land. I just don't get it.

2nd question- if we sell, can I go buy another house after declaring bankruptcy? Remember my husband didn't declare. Thanks in advance for your help and advice

[ScottGem]

First lets make sure you understand this. They are NOT changing your mortgage in any way. The payments you referred to are NOT included in your mortgage, just in your mortgage PAYMENT. There is a difference. Most lenders require that you make a monthly "escrow" payment in addition to the principal and interest on the mortgage.

What happens at closing is you are required to pay an amount into escrow to cover taxes and insurance, then each month you pay an additional amount. Each year, the lender recalculates the escrow payment so that the escrow account will never fall below 2 months worth of payments. This is in accordance with federal rules.

The taxes on the property should have been known and given to you at the time of the closing. Its certainly possible the lender miscalculated the amount of escrow, and they are within their rights to collect it from you. However, you should be able to work out spreading the amount you owe over the next 12-24 months rather than paying a lump sum.

Now if you feel your property is not assessed fairly or correctly, you should speak to the assessors office. There is generally a way to protest your assessment. Its very possible this other property has not been reassessed since the improvement were started and once the work is finished, his assessment will jump.

If you are forced to sell. Whether you can buy another property will depend on your husband's income and the value of the property. Your being on the mortgage will have an adverse effect on his ability to get a mortgage.