It’s been three weeks since my last post. Sorry, guys. This is our busy season at work, so I’ve been working longer hours. Plus, I recently discovered that Tubi (a free streaming service) has Unsolved Mysteries, so I’ve been spending most of my free time bingeing it. I grew up watching that show and loved it. The eerie music and Robert Stack’s narration just had a way of drawing you in. Plus, the stories were always interesting. I heard Netflix is rebooting the show, which is kind of exciting. However, no way will it be the same. I hope the stories are interesting though.
I got a certified letter in the mail yesterday from a loan company saying that my tax ID got entered into their system by mistake, so they paid my real estate taxes for a 6 month period. They said in the letter that they were sorry for the inconvenience this would cause me, but they needed me to promptly return those funds, which totals $1200. I seriously thought this was a scam! My real estate taxes are escrowed in my mortgage, so when I send in my mortgage check each month I am paying into my taxes as well. However, I did receive a thousand-some dollar refund check in December due to my taxes being overpaid. I didn’t think too much of it and just thought I had been overpaying. I used the entire check to pay off some debts that I had. I gave my mom back $300 she had loaned me, and I used the rest to pay down my credit card (so that I would have to pay less interest in the long run). Then this happened.
After calling my mortgage loan company, the city, and the county, it has been verified that this is legit. That company really did pay my taxes by mistake, and the money that I had been paying on taxes is what was returned to me. So now I owe this company $1200. My mom and I got into an argument over it because she was acting like I didn’t have a right to be upset. “You received that refund check, so really you’re not losing anything. You’re just breaking even.” However, I thought that was just extra money and it’s gone now. I will get my income tax return next month, but now all of that is going to have to go to this company to get them paid back. So that income tax money I was looking forward to investing into my home (I wanted to get a sidewalk put out back and save the rest in case something goes wrong and needs fixed) has to go to them, so now I won’t get to put anything in savings.
It upsets me because I’ve already had a couple issues with the house since moving in. Nothing major, just a leaking toilet and a collapsed pipe under one of the sinks. They weren’t expensive fixes (for now), but it just showed how anything can go wrong at any time. My Aunt just had to have her furnace in her home replaced, and it wasn’t cheap. I need to be prepared if something happens. I still have $200 left to pay on my credit card as well, but then I’ll be able to put back some of my overtime money. I just hope I can get ahead sometime soon.
I’d be very upset as well, especially after paying off some loans, so you have a total right to be upset over it. I hope it gets better x
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Thank you. 🙂
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I’d be fairly upset too, as this is definitely a major inconvenience for you to say the least. $1200 is A LOT of money for most people to come up with on the spot! I’m renting my horribly craptastic home at the moment, and only because my boss owns the house and takes the rent out of my check do I tolerate how crappy it is -.-
Once I finish college and am able I REALLY hope I can move, because a leaky pipe here and there can definitely add up later on!
I really hope both you and I can save money this year. Sounds like you need it too!
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Living in a home you really like can make a big difference in your state of mind. Hopefully you find something better soon.
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That’s absolutely horrible, hope things will better for you soon.
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Thank you.
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Wow this sucks, it looks like they basically waited a month before asking for the money back? That’s crazy, especially since you had time to use it already and $1200 is a decent chunk of money. I hope everything works out!
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The paper shows they paid my taxes all the way back in July! So definitely more than a month. However, I just received the refund check at the beginning of December, so if they would have brought this to my attention sooner, I wouldn’t have spent the money. Thanks for reading!
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I am so sorry that happened. Hopefully it will get worked out!
Jennifer
Effortlessly Sophisticated
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Thank you. 🙂
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I would definitely be upset too. I’m sorry that happened. Owning a house can be stressful.. my fiance and I just bought one last May, and it sucks having to pay for anything that breaks. I was so used to having free maintenance at the apartment I rented before. It’s a good investment though.
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Oh my gosh, May is when I bought my house too!
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Oh girl I really hope things lighten up for you soon- it has been quite a month, hasn’t it? I haven’t watched Unsolved Mysteries in forever- but now I neeed to watch an episode! That is such a good show
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An inconvenience? That’s horrible. You have every reason to be upset, because it’s YOUR money. I don’t understand why they couldn’t let you know sooner, before you had already spent the check, because that would have made a difference. For someone else’s mistake, you have to literally compensate for it? Wow, SMH.
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Right?! Plus I filed my income taxes today and thanks to Trump’s tax bill, I get no tax break for buying my home (whereas before that I probably would have received at least a couple more grand back). So literally everything I am receiving has to go toward paying this company back.
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Oh nooo you definitely have every right to be upset! When you’ve been budgeting and allotting your money to pay a certain amount to taxes on a monthly basis, it’s far more than an inconvenience to abruptly owe so much at once. That totally sucks, Britney! The thought of anything going wrong at anytime is definitely the scariest when considering buying a house. I really hope that things turn around for you soon! ❤
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Thanks, I hope so too!
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So sorry to hear that, but glad to know you triple checked to make sure it wasn’t a scam! I recently got some extra money back from my job for tests I had to take, then my personal property tax for my new car hit me like a pile of bricks- that “extra” money was gone so soon!
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Oh wow! I don’t think I’ve had to pay any taxes on my car except for sales tax. Unless it was figured in somewhere.
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Oh my gosh, that does seem so sketchy. I totally get why you thought it was a scam at first. You so have the right to be upset! I definitely would be, too. I’m sorry that you were having some house issues already. I hope everything was easily fixed & that you will be able to get ahead financially soon. ❤ Hang in there, babe!!
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Thanks, Hunida. 🙂 I also just filed my taxes and found out I don’t get a tax break for buying my home because of Trump’s tax bill that went into effect 5 months before I bought my house. (My aunt got $5,000 back when she bought her home a few years ago). So everything I am getting back from my income taxes has to go to this company since I’m not getting anything extra. 😔
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Oh my gosh, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry! I do not know much about all that but ugh. I wish you’d get your tax break!
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It seems you haven’t been able to catch a break 😦 I’d be upset too though, like who makes that kind of mistake to begin with? You’d think they’d be thorough. You do have every right to be upset though, no matter what your mom says. $1200 is a lot of money and not an amount I could come up with within a month. *sigh* I hope that gets sorted out soon!
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Yeah, I also just filed my taxes and found out I don’t get a tax break for buying my home because of Trump’s tax bill that went into effect 5 months before I bought my house.
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Awh I’m sorry! 😦 that really sucks
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