North Dakota Code 47-10.2-04 – Payments from escrow – Notice – Liability of lender or escrow agent
1. If the borrower notifies the escrow agent as provided in subsection 2, is current in loan payments, and funds in the escrow account are sufficient, the borrower may direct the escrow agent under the borrower’s loan to do any of the following:
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 47-10.2-04
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Property: includes property, real and personal. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
a. Pay the property taxes by December thirty-first, if the escrow agent has received a tax statement for that property by December twentieth.
b. Pay the property taxes on or before February fifteenth to qualify for the discount for early payment under section 57-20-09.
c. Pay the property taxes when due.
2. To require the escrow agent to make payments in any of the manners specified in subsection 1, the borrower shall send, by December first, written notice to the escrow agent specifying the manner in which the borrower wants the escrow agent to make payments under subsection 1. Once notified, the escrow agent shall annually make payments in that manner unless the borrower is not current in loan payments, unless funds in the escrow account are not sufficient, or unless otherwise notified in writing by the borrower by December first. If the borrower has never provided a written notice to the escrow agent, the escrow agent shall pay property taxes as provided in subdivision b of subsection 1.
3. An escrow agent who fails to comply with a directive of a borrower under subsection 1 made within the time limitations under subsection 2 is liable to the borrower for five hundred dollars plus actual damages, costs, and reasonable attorney fees.
4. In this section, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:
a. “Escrow agent” means a person who receives escrow payments on behalf of itself or another person.
b. “Loan” means a loan under which an escrow is required by the lender to assure payment of property taxes and which is secured by a first lien real estate mortgage or equivalent security interest in a dwelling that the borrower uses as a principal place of residence, not including a mobile home.