Apparently OC home debtors find themselves pre-occupied with the increased mortgage payments on their newly adjusted ARM or interest-only home loans - so much so, that many have neglected to make appropriate financial plans to pay Orange County property taxes.
John Lansner of the OC Register reports from his interview with Mr. Chriss Street, Orange County Treasurer, that 5.5% of OC residents were delinquent on their second installment property tax payments which were due in April 2007.
Street reported that the increase in delinquencies is related to the fact that more taxpayers do not have the ability to pay the tax charges.
Was it the local REALTOR that convinced prospective home buyers to "get in now" while interest rates are low and bite off more 6-figure OC home than they could possibly chew?
Or was it the "no problem, we can make it happen for you"-referal to the local ARM and IO mortgage broker, who decided to ignore the ability of the prospective client's ability to pay the mortgage and other budgetary expenses longer term, and to shift them into the ARM and IO variety in order to secure the higher sales commissions?
I suppose it does much matter at this point. More OC home debtors are going to find themselves financially slapped around by the bank on one side and the county on the other.
1 comment:
Really? Back when I last owned a house, the bank collected a portion of my property tax with each monthly payment and dispersed the payments from an escrow account twice a year. This was to keep the bank from having to risk losing the house to a tax auction, as I understood it (as I recall fire insurance was similarly handled). Have they decoupled property tax from the mortgage payment?
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