Our first glitch

[confusedinok]

We moved the first part of March and filed ch7 the end of May. (same state) Well, my oldest son mows the yard for the lady who bought our former house. I was talking with her dad today and he told me they received a bill for the termite treatment that happened before we moved. Now this treatment was our responsibility and was supposed to be taken out of the closing costs. I looked at BK, the company can't come after the current owner for it, can they? It was all going so smoothly.....

[newbie2]

Since the termite treatment happened before you filed, it should be discharged. (You weren't an asset case were you?) I would simply send them a copy of your discharge along with a letter stating that since they didn't bill you until now, that you didn't know that the bill existed. The current owners should not be affected by this.

[confusedinok]

We did know about the bill, but we thought it had been paid. It was supposed to be paid when we closed on the house, but for some reason the title company never received a copy of the invoice even the though the termite company can tell me when and where they faxed it. This is the first creditor I really feel badly about. They should have been paid. I don't want the current owners to be affected because my oldest son does their lawn and they live across the street from my parents (who we're hoping won't have to know about the BK unless absolutely necessary.) Awkward to say the least!

[disconapper]

The title company should have the money sitting in escrow waiting to pay the invoice. Their books did not balance on the closing of the house if they have not paid for the inspection. Check your Hud-1 settlement statement, if you have a copy, it should be listed under either the title company fees or seller paid fees section. If it's on the Hud-1 then the title company is certainly on the hook for it. I would most certainly start with the title company. Call their post closing department first and work your way up the ladder until you get the right answer, or heck, go straight to the title attorney or closing agent since they notarized the documents.

[confusedinok]

I have checked the settlement statement and it's not on there. When I talked with them earlier, they said they don't have a copy of it. There isn't a copy in any of our papers. It just got missed.

[newbie2]

You actually have 2 choices now: Pay the bill yourself or send them a copy of the discharge papers. The title company didn't have the invoice (or so they say), it's not on the settlement sheets from closing, and you missed it yourself when reviewing your documents at closing. I'm sure the title company had you sign some kind of "hold harmless" document in case something like this happened. (If it was something recorded at the county or city level then you can hold them responsible, as it is their job to check those things. This is different though..)

[confusedinok]

Yep. That about sums it up. I finally got a response from our attorney and that's what she said to do. This one just makes me sad. They should have been paid, but we don't have the money now.

[LadyInTheRed]

Yep. That about sums it up. I finally got a response from our attorney and that's what she said to do. This one just makes me sad. They should have been paid, but we don't have the money now.

You could send them a copy of your discharge and tell them that even though the debt has been discharged, you would like to pay them, but you can't right now. Tell them you will send payments when you can.

[confusedinok]

We may do that. Hopefully they'd work with us, but I sure hate to start out our fresh start with more payments!

[disconapper]

I have checked the settlement statement and it's not on there. When I talked with them earlier, they said they don't have a copy of it. There isn't a copy in any of our papers. It just got missed.

The title company has a copy of your settlement paperwork, they have to keep copies of everything for several years for audit purposes. Whoever said that was lying to you, point blank.

The termite inspection is a critical part of the closing process. The buyer's lender would probably not have authorized the loan without one. And 99% of the time, it is paid by the BUYER at the time of closing from escrow funds, never out of pocket, unless you negotiated differently, then it will be noted in the purchase agreement and most certainly the Hud-1.

The termite inspection report should have the escrow file number that was established at the beginning of the closing process.

Along with the closing fees, tax service fee, courier fee, recording and transfer fees, the termite inspection fee is a very typical fee that is paid out of closing costs.

I'm sorry you are in this mess.

I worked in the management side of a mortgage company for 11 years; I worked daily with Title Attorneys and Post Closing Clerks. I know someone is covering their tracks or being to lazy to pull your file and look. And I know for a fact, that if they were supposed to pay the termite inspection fee out of escrow funds, their case is not balanced. Your buyers lender will also know exactly who was supposed to pay.

I hope the title company does as they are supposed to do with this one. Otherwise, I would follow the advice of others, you stated yourself you don't have the money, no reason you should be on the hook for it.

[confusedinok]

This is not for the inspection. It's for the treatment after the inspection. Termite damage was found so it needed to be treated. The inspection was paid for by the buyer and I have all the paperwork for that. They just never received the invoice for treatment.