Question regarding seller financing
We sold a fixer upper mobile home on payments a year and a half ago. It's going great and we love this strategy. But about six months ago, the homeowner's insurance was canceled due to underwriting issues and some repairs not being completed on the home. The borrower asked us if she could be released from the requirement to hold insurance until she could afford to make the necessary repairs, which we were fine with. She also asked us to continue collecting the insurance portion of her monthly escrow, as she is concerned that if she stops paying that extra $70/month, she will never get back into the habit of paying it. She is hoping to have the repairs completed and be able to purchase an insurance policy again next year. Well, I was doing some research tonight as I am working win preparing an annual escrow report to give to her at the end of this year, and it looks like we are legally required to issue her a refund check if the escrow surplus is over $50 at the end of the year. I understand this is not my money; it's hers, and I'm happy to issue the check. But she is ASKING me to keep it until she can get the insurance policy in place, to make it easier to purchase the policy. Any thoughts on this? Is this really illegal? And if so, what is a good workaround for her?