Mortgage co. bankruptcy slows down property tax payments

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GENEVA – The bankruptcy of Florida mortgage company Taylor, Bean and Whitaker is not expected to affect the payment of property taxes for its estimated 938 Kane County customers, Kane County Treasurer David J. Rickert said.

Other mortgage providers and mortgage servicing companies are making the property tax payments, Rickert said.

The number of taxpayers associated with Taylor, Bean and Whitaker is based on first installment property taxes paid, he said. But mortgage companies could have changed or loans refinanced, so the exact number might be different.

As of Wednesday, taxes for more than 550 parcels were paid by Cenlar and First American Tax Service, which are stepping in for the failed mortgage company. They are also paying the late fees, he said.

"We are making those a high priority for our office," Rickert said. "We are maybe getting 30 calls a day from those with Taylor, Bean and Whitaker mortgages, which is not unusual. We probably get 500 calls a day during this time of year. Most of these are in the pipeline to be taken care of."

Second installment tax payments were due Sept. 2 through Oct. 1 for Kane County.

The 938 properties associated with Taylor, Bean and Whitaker mortgage loans accounts for 1 percent or $2.3 million of the county's $1.1 billion in property taxes collected, Rickert said.

Taylor, Bean and Whitaker had about 450,000 mortgages nationwide, Rickert said. The company declared bankruptcy on Aug. 21.

The issue with unpaid property taxes came to light recently when Will County Treasurer Pat McGuire reported the county's 1,737 parcels with Taylor, Bean and Whitaker mortgages had not paid their taxes.

McGuire said Wednesday that Bank of America, Cenlar, Ocwen and Saxon, have picked up Taylor Bean and Whitaker's accounts and paid property taxes on 961 parcels. Property taxes of loans retained by Taylor, Bean and Whitaker, however, remain unpaid, he said.

Rickert said he knew the mortgage company was in trouble and there could be problems with getting taxes paid.

"I don't know what the issues were in Will County," Rickert said. "In Kane County, when we became aware of this issue, we got in contact with a number of these companies. It was explained to us they they were in the pipeline to be corrected. We knew the company was in trouble and there may be issues with their payment."

Eric Roger of South Elgin, who had a mortgage with Taylor, Bean and Whitaker, said Cenlar now owns the loan and just paid his property taxes Oct. 2.

"We got a letter saying Taylor Bean and Whitaker could not hold our mortgage any more and we would be contacted by another company," Roger said. "I found out [Tuesday] the late fee of $80 was not paid."

Roger said he did not know whether Cenlar would eventually pay it or if he would have to.

Attempts to get comments from Taylor, Bean and Whitaker or Cenlar were not successful.

What you can do

Who: Kane County residents who have mortgages with Taylor, Bean and Whitaker and who received a delinquency notice
Where: Call Kane County Treasurer David Rickert at 630-232-3565
Why: To see if your property taxes have been paid
Because: Taylor Bean and Whitaker filed for bankruptcy in August and some property taxes held in escrow were not paid on time
How to check payment status online: www.KaneCountyTreasurer.org, select the link labeled property tax search, enter your parcel number