The Trusted Advisor-2

A client asked me to resolve a mortgage escrow refund issue that's been lingering for 32 months since selling his multi family property in Brooklyn, NY. The closing was on 4-23-13 at his attorney's office in Queens. Of course, I was at the closing as the client advisor throughout the selling process.

His escrow balance was $4,800.00 at that time, and it was due to him. However, my client never received the money. His closing attorney was following up on the escrow refund after the closing, therefore it wasn't my reponsibility to claim the money for him. Time passed and while filing a small claims case for him 2 weeks ago, he mentioned that he never received the escrow refund.

I went into collection mode by first looking into the the City's unclaim funds to see if his name was listed, and then contacted the closing attorney. She provided me with the bank payoff letter and I contacted it. I was informed that the check was sent to an address in Florida. Asked my client about that address and he told me that while in Haiti, years ago, a girlfriend in Florida was handling his affairs in New York, thus the bank had her address on file. He contacted the girlfriend to inquire about the check. Her answer was: I never received it. Called the bank representative on the case who was tracing the check to inform him that the check never made it to Florida.

Last Friday I received a call from that same representative telling me that the check was never cashed and to provide him with a verifiable address for my client. I did, and yesterday he received a fedex envelope with a check for $4,984.71. A Happy Ending just in time for Christmas.

My analysis is that the bank never mailed the check, they were sitting on the money,God only knows how much money is sitting unclaimed out there.

Well, dear friends and clients this is the last issue of the Trusted Advisor from New York, the next one will be from Haiti. Until then,

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous Year!