What you can do?
Review your Escrow Account Statement:
Did your lender or loan servicer:
Forget to pay your taxes? 
Pay your taxes late? 
Charge the late fees/penalties to your escrow account? 
 
If so, complain directly to your lender or loan servicer and ask for a refund of the late fees.  Some questions and answers: 
 
Question 1: What’s the law require? 
Answer: Section 6(g) of RESPA requires loan servicers to pay taxes, insurance and other escrow account charges on time to avoid late fees or penalties. (Section 6(g) is found at: 12 U.S.C. 2605(g).) HUD interprets Section 6 (g) of RESPA to require lenders to pay borrowers’ tax bills on time so long as the homeowners were current in their mortgage payments. If the lender pays the tax bill late and the homeowner is current in making the mortgage payment, HUD would consider the lender responsible for any penalty or late charge, barring any justifiable excuse. 
 
Question 2: If I paid my mortgage on time, why was my lender late in making my tax payment? 
Answer: Mistakes happen for any number of reasons.  Most late payments are due to computer glitches, or may occur when loans are being transferred from one servicer to another or when lenders merge. Most lenders do not routinely pay tax bills late. Many lenders get a computer “tape” from the taxing authority for all borrowers who owe taxes in that jurisdiction and sometimes names and bills are left off the tape by mistake. Some lenders expect homeowners to forward the tax bills and some homeowners may not do so timely. 
 
Question 3: How can I check to see that I haven’t been charged for my lender’s mistake? 
Answer: RESPA requires your lender to send you an Annual Escrow Account Statement. Compare your Annual Escrow Account Statement with your tax bill. If you did not receive a bill from your county, city, or other taxing authority, you can ask the taxing authority what you owed in taxes for the time in question. You will need to check both to make sure that the amount the lender paid from your escrow account matches your tax bill. If the amount the lender paid from your escrow account is more than your tax bill, that difference may be a penalty or late fee. 
 
Question 4: What can I do to get a refund? 
Answer: In a written letter (not a phone call), ask your lender for an explanation and refund if the lender was at fault for paying the tax bill late. Your written letter should be labeled a “qualified written request under Section 6 of RESPA.” You may follow the Sample Complaint to Lender format for complaints. 
 
Please send HUD a copy of your “qualified written request.” That way we can better monitor lenders for compliance with this law. Our address is: 
Office of RESPA and Interstate Land Sales 
Office of Housing, Room 9154 
US Department of Housing and Urban Development # 451
Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20410 
 
Question 5: What can HUD do to help? 
Answer: HUD has started a broad review of the practices of the largest loan servicers in the country. Unfortunately, HUD may not be able to get involved in every dispute that occurs between a homeowner and a loan servicer over escrow charges. By following these instructions, homeowners can help themselves get refunds directly from their lenders. By sending copies of your complaints to HUD, you will help us identify the worst offenders so that we may take appropriate action against companies that are doing the greatest harm.
Find out more about homeowner associations in Weston, FL

 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that an increase in calls coming into its toll-free fair housing complaint line, 1-800-669-9777, shows that recent enhancements made to the system have helped achieve the agency’s goal of enabling more individuals to report housing discrimination to its Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). About 13,000 calls a month now come into the hotline, up 8 percent over previous months. Chief among the enhancements that have contributed to the increase was the inclusion of 64 recently created area codes in the hotline’s automated program, which refers callers to intake specialists at HUD’s regional offices based on area-code recognition. The last few years have seen the addition of more than 100 new area codes for businesses and residences throughout the nation.

In anticipation of the increased call volume, HUD also added two more phone lines to its hotline, making it easier for callers to connect quickly with a live person in one of HUD’s regional offices.

The addition of new area codes and extra phone lines helped contribute to the 21 percent increase in discrimination complaints HUD has received this fiscal year, which ends September 30th.

“We are excited about the new changes to our phone system,” said Kim Kendrick, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “Anything we can do to enhance our customer service assures our callers that we are here to serve them better and helps us continue our mission to ensure equal access to housing for every resident of this nation.”

Another benefit of the changes is that they enable HUD to analyze call data better. For example, “If we discover we are receiving more calls of discrimination from a particular city, we can step up our enforcement efforts in that area,” explained Kendrick. “The system is allowing us to utilize our resources better.” Similarly, if HUD receives few complaints from some areas of the country, the Department can explore whether its education-and-outreach efforts in those communities are adequate. The system allows HUD also to monitor how the public responds to targeted initiatives.

For all calls coming into the discrimination hotline, HUD can track the city and state the call is coming from, as well as the time of day of the call and the duration of the call. This information helps hotline phone representatives to be more responsive to callers.

In addition to calling HUD’s toll-free Fair Housing complaint number at 1-800-669-9777, individuals who believe they have experienced discrimination can also file a complaint by using HUD’s on-line form at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.

Housing discrimination charges heard before an administrative law judge carry a maximum civil penalty of $11,000 for a first offense, in addition to actual damages for each complainant, injunctive or other equitable relief, and attorney’s fees. Sanctions can be more severe if a respondent has a history of housing discrimination. Parties also have the right to elect to have their cases heard in federal district court.

Before you buy, contact the condo board with the following questions. In the process, you’ll learn how responsive — and organized — its members are.

1. What percentage of units is owner-occupied? What percentage is tenant-occupied? Generally, the higher the percentage of owner-occupied units, the more marketable the units will be at resale.

2. What covenants, bylaws, and restrictions govern the property? What grandfather clauses are in place? You may find, for instance, that those who buy a property after a certain date can’t rent out their units, but buyers who bought earlier can. Ask for a copy of the bylaws to determine if you can live within them. And have an attorney review property docs, including the master deed, for you.

3. How much does the association keep in reserve? How is that money being invested?

4. Are association assessments keeping pace with the annual rate of inflation? Smart boards raise assessments a certain percentage each year to build reserves to fund future repairs. To determine if the assessment is reasonable, compare the rate to others in the area.

5. What does and doesn’t the assessment cover—common area maintenance, recreational facilities, trash collection, snow removal?

6. What special assessments have been mandated in the past five years? How much was each owner responsible for? Some special assessments are unavoidable. But repeated, expensive assessments could be a red flag about the condition of the building or the board’s fiscal policy.

7. How much turnover occurs in the building?

8. Is the project in litigation? If the builders or homeowners are involved in a lawsuit, reserves can be depleted quickly.

9. Is the developer reputable? Find out what other projects the developer has built and visit one if you can. Ask residents about their perceptions. Request an engineer’s report for developments that have been reconverted from other uses to determine what shape the building is in. If the roof, windows, and bricks aren’t in good repair, they become your problem once you buy.

10. Are multiple associations involved in the property? In very large developments, umbrella associations, as well as the smaller association into which you’re buying, may require separate assessments.
Call Courtney Silverman for your South East Florida residential property needs at 954-292-0743

The months of December and January are generally good months for home buyers, but given current conditions in the real estate market, now is even a better time than usual to buy a home. Here’s why:

■ Mortgage rates are currently lower than they’ve been in almost a year, making homes more affordable.
■ Inventory is once again on the decline. After months of record numbers of homes on the market, the number is dropping. As it does, the selection of homes will again become limited. For prospective buyers, now might be the best time ever to buy a home.
■ With the market correction nearing an end, home prices are expected to rise again. According to the National Association of Realtors, research shows that home prices will not go any lower, and the median home price is expected to rise 1.6 percent for 2006 and will again increase in 2007. That means waiting could be a costly mistake.
■ Real estate remains the best investment available. The average home purchased five years ago has appreciated 49 percent, according to the NAR. While year-to-year fluctuations do occur, real estate remains one of the best-performing, most consistent long-term investments.

Savvy real estate investors will be in buying mode this winter. The savviest will keep these five things in mind to make their holiday investing season a happy one:

1. Negotiate the best deal possible. Sellers are motivated this time of year, and with the number of sellers out there, there is room to wheel and deal. 

2. Do your homework and some legwork. There are plenty of options for low-interest investor loans; find the best one for you. Get pre-approved before shopping for a house. Find an Realtor who is investor herself, and work with a lender who has a track record for working with investors. Research the market and buy in an area where there is demand.

3. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to be rich to invest in real estate. Many investments can be made with little money out of pocket. Don’t waste valuable time because you think you must save more money before getting into the game.

4. Find a system that works and stick with it. Many people have made a lot of money investing in real estate, so don’t try to re-invent the wheel. Decide on your tolerance for risk and invest accordingly. Rehabbing houses might turn the best short-term return, but it is risky. Single-family homes are more stable and provide returns over the long term.

5. Get over your fear. Many will never think twice about signing a check over to their stock broker, but they hesitate to enter the much more stable world of real estate investing. With this unique buyers market, this is the worst possible time to let your fear paralyze you.

The year 2007 will represent a fantastic buying opportunity for real estate investors, and the months of December and January are a great time to get started. 

The question is: Will you leverage this opportunity to its fullest potential? This buying opportunity may be like buying Microsoft stock back when Bill Gates was just getting started. How many shares of Microsoft would you like to have purchased back then?