When you finance your home with a mortgage, your lender will likely require you to maintain an escrow account. With this setup, a portion of your monthly mortgage payment is set aside to cover your annual property taxes and home insurance premiums.
Lenders want to protect their financial investment when they loan you money; an escrow account acts as a forced savings account to ensure those property expenses are paid on time and in full, says Ed Santiago, a branch manager with Fairway Independent Mortgage in Wayne, Pa.
Lenders hold back one-twelfth of the estimated annual expenses each month to pay your taxes and insurance. Some lenders require an additional cushion of up to two months' worth of expenses to avoid potential escrow shortages. If you end up with an overage because you get a cheaper insurance policy or your property taxes decrease, your lender will send you a refund check.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Because property-tax assessments and insurance rates tend to rise over time, the amount collected for escrow can fluctuate. So while your principal and interest payments remain the same for the life of a fixed-rate mortgage, your total monthly payment may change from year to year.
Homeowners felt the sting of both higher property-tax bills and soaring home insurance premiums in 2024. According to data from Intercontinental Exchange, home insurance premiums rose by an average 14% from the previous year, and 2024 property-tax bills jumped 2.7%.
Escrow rules
Government-backed mortgages — Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans — require escrow accounts regardless of the down payment amount.
For conventional loans, most lenders require an escrow account if you put down less than 20% on the home purchase. In some cases, though, you can get an escrow waiver with a loan-to-value ratio of 95% or less, a good credit score, and no recent mortgage payment delinquencies or defaults on past escrow waivers. However, you’ll pay 0.25% of the loan amount for an escrow waiver.
A waiver makes sense only if you have sufficient disposable income to cover larger (but less frequent) tax and insurance payments and the financial discipline to keep up with them independently, Santiago says. Check how often your locality collects property taxes — some collect only once or twice a year, leading to bigger bills, while others collect quarterly.
If you get an escrow waiver, you could put money to pay your insurance and tax bills in a high-yield savings account, earning interest on the funds. (But for this to be worthwhile, your interest earnings would need to be greater than the fee to waive escrow.)
Additionally, if you switch home insurance providers or successfully appeal your home's assessed value for property taxes, you may not face as much hassle and paperwork. But most loan servicers offer online account management, so updating your account isn't as cumbersome as it used to be, Santiago says.
And the flexibility of managing escrow expenses on your own isn't without some risk. Failing to pay your property taxes could result in your county filing a tax lien against your home, potentially leading to foreclosure.
Likewise, if you don't pay your homeowners insurance premiums and let the coverage lapse, you're breaching your agreement to maintain home insurance as a condition of taking out a mortgage. In that event, your loan servicer can require force-placed homeowners insurance, which is usually costlier and less comprehensive, Santiago says.
Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.
Related Content
-
Trump Reshapes Foreign PolicyThe Kiplinger Letter The President starts the new year by putting allies and adversaries on notice.
-
How to Plan a (Successful) Family ReunionFrom shaping the guest list to building the budget, here's how to design a successful and memorable family reunion.
-
These Unloved Energy Stocks Are a BargainCleaned-up balance sheets and generous dividends make these dirt-cheap energy shares worth a look.
-
What to Ask a Contractor Before a RenovationEssential questions homeowners should ask before hiring a contractor to avoid surprises, protect their investment and keep projects on time and on budget.
-
I'm 61 and Want a Divorce, but I Worry About My Finances. Should We Live Separately but Stay Married?We asked Certified Divorce Financial Analysts for advice.
-
I'm a Real Estate Expert: 2026 Marks a Seismic Shift in Tax Rules, and Investors Could Reap Millions in RewardsThree major tax strategies will align in 2026, creating unique opportunities for real estate investors to significantly grow their wealth. Here's how it works.
-
What to Watch for When Refinancing Your Home MortgageA smart refinance can save you thousands, but only if you know how to avoid costly pitfalls, calculate true savings and choose the right loan for your goals.
-
Builders Are Offering Big Mortgage Incentives — What Homebuyers Should Watch ForBuilder credits and below-market mortgage rates can ease affordability pressures, but the savings often come with trade-offs buyers should understand before signing.
-
Do Self-Storage REITs Deserve Space in Your Portfolio? It's a Yes From This Investment AdviserSelf-storage is an overlooked area of the real estate market, even though demand is strong. Investors can get in on the action through a REIT.
-
Trump Signals Plan to Ban Institutional Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes
The president says the move could improve housing affordability. Here’s what the data show about investor ownership, recent buying trends and what it could mean for homebuyers.
-
We Are Retired, Mortgage-Free, With $970K in Savings. My Husband Wants to Downsize to Lower Our Costs, but I Love Our House. Help!We've paid off our mortgage, have $970K in savings and $5K each month from Social Security. Kiplinger asked wealth planners for advice.
