Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I've been in my home for a year now. I've now been contacted by the bank that owns my loan stating the mortgage company didn't disclose the special assessment tax on my pro pert which would bump my monthly payment up $500 a month. Had they done that I wouldn't have got the loan and they knew that. So now I have payments that I can't afford and I'm most likely going to lose my house and $46k I put down on it. Is there any way to sue the mortgage company for purposely manipulating my information just to get me a loan they knew I couldn't afford?


Asked on 9/14/10, 3:34 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

The first question that comes to my mind is who knew about this special assessment and who didn't during the time between when you made an offer to buy this home and the close of escrow. Did you know? Did the seller disclose it? Did it show up on disclosures you received, on your preliminary title report? What about your agent? The sellers' agent?

A $500 a month omission from the impound portion of your monthly payment is a big mistake, but the blame may not fall sufficiently on your mortgage broker to point to a likelihood of success. Perhaps your information was purposely manipulated, but you may be jumping to conclusions.

Eventually you'll probably need to have some discussions with a local lawyer or two, but perhaps to get a better handle on what may have gone awry, you should talk to your buyer's agent or broker (real estate broker, not loan broker) or your escrow processor, to get their opinions on who knew, who didn't know, who concealed, and who failed to investigate where there was a duty to investigate.

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Answered on 9/19/10, 6:15 pm


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