What is escrow?
In many cases the lender who holds your mortgage loan will be responsible for making sure that your property taxes and property insurance premiums are paid in a timely fashion. To do that, your lender will collect a certain amount above your designated monthly principal and interest payments and hold it in an account, called an escrow account. Sometimes you will see this amount listed with your regular payment as “T&I” When your tax or insurance payments come due, the lender will pay them from this escrow account.
Because taxes and insurance can change from year to year, the amount you pay each month can change as well. Each year your lender will provide you with a statement showing how much they’ve paid for taxes and insurance on your behalf and what they expect to pay in the current year.
You may be eligible to pay these items yourself, which would remove any escrow payment from your monthly payment.
If you have any further questions about this, call us at 206.398.5500 or send us a message.