sistawendy | The mail giveth, and the mail taketh away.

Way back in May I got an escrow refund in the mail in the low five figures. Why? I didn't (Foreshadowing!) know, but gift horses. I put most of it in the bank.

Well, it's a good thing I did because yesterday I got mail yesterday from a a company in Texas asking for a slightly smaller amout back. That company processes mortgages on behalf of lenders, and they'd overpaid my property taxes, apparently thinking that the developers who built my house still owned it.

Yeah, I know that sounds fishy, but I called the county treasurer's office, as the letter from Texas encouraged me to do. The Texas company is legit, says the county, and the county has records of payments that are identical to what the Texas company sent.

The Texas company has not threatened legal action. I'm honestly not sure that they can, credibly. I'm loath to let go of that cash, natch, but how much trouble am I asking for if I don't? I have to wonder if the human who's surely responsible for that mistake has been fired yet.

Moral: real estate transactions are so complicated that even the pros get things wrong some times.