Escrow FAQs

What's an escrow account?

An escrow account allows us to pay the required insurance and/or taxes on your property for you. You pay a portion of your taxes and/or insurance premiums as part of your monthly mortgage payment. Then, when taxes and/or premiums are due, we’ll pay them on your behalf with the money in your escrow account.

What are the benefits of having an escrow account?

An escrow account helps you budget for large expenses, like property taxes and insurance. Plus, we pay them on your behalf when they're due, which saves you time and gives you peace of mind that your payments will be made on time.

How are tax and insurance projections calculated for the next year?

Each year we project how much you’ll need in your escrow account for the upcoming year. We base it on the amount of taxes and/or insurance you paid during the past 12 months. The total paid is divided by 12 to get your projected monthly escrow payment.

Sometimes, your payment must be adjusted to ensure your monthly balance remains above a required minimum balance during the next 12 months. This minimum balance is typically equal to two months of escrow payments.

If your taxes and/or insurance change during the next year or your monthly escrow balance falls below the required minimum amount, you could have a shortage or surplus in your account when we do an Annual Escrow Analysis next year.

How did you determine my escrow payment when you originated my loan?

We estimated your tax payments and/or insurance premiums before your loan closed using the most recent tax and/or insurance amounts paid on the property. If your home is newly constructed, we may base our estimate on the taxes you paid for the property before you made any improvements.

Why are my tax and/or insurance amounts always projected?

We have to project your tax and/or insurance premiums based on the amounts you paid in the previous year, unless we receive official notice of an amount change for the upcoming year from a taxing authority or insurance provider.