Escrow

The document can be found in online banking with your other edocuments. Please note your document is categorized under 'Personal Loan Bill Statements' and is titled as a second 'Personal Loan Bill Statements' file.

There are a few reasons why you might not have enough money in your escrow account to meet the minimum balance:

• Your property taxes and/or insurance premiums increased.
• Your taxes were reassessed.
• Your insurance provider(s) changed.
• The due date of your property taxes and/or insurance premiums changed.
• You made fewer escrow payments into your account than expected.
• Your starting escrow balance for the 12-month period was lower than expected due to higher payouts the prior year.

If you have questions about an increase in your property taxes or insurance premiums, please contact your local taxing authority or insurance agent.

Your payment may still go up, even if you pay the entire shortage, if your taxes or insurance increase.

You have three options for paying a shortage:

• Option 1: Pay nothing and spread the shortage amount evenly across next year’s payments.
• Option 2: Pay the full shortage now. Please note, if your tax and/or insurance expenses have increased, your monthly mortgage payment may still go up, even if you pay all of the shortage.
• Option 3: Pay part of the shortage. The remaining shortage balance will be spread out over 12 months and added to your monthly mortgage payment.

You may not be able to prevent a shortage, but you can minimize the impact by staying informed about your escrow account.

While it can be difficult to plan for annual increases to the tax rate or insurance premiums, the easiest way to avoid a shortage is to avoid unplanned disbursements from your escrow account. Unplanned disbursements typically occur when a homeowner switches insurance policies mid-term and the premium is paid from the escrow account without an offsetting deposit being made. Unplanned disbursements can also occur when requests are made by the homeowner to pay supplemental tax bills. Supplemental tax bills should always be paid out of pocket by the homeowner to minimize any potential escrow shortages.

You'll need to continue making the higher payment until the effective date on your escrow analysis (shown at the top of your analysis statement).

A shortage occurs when the escrow account balance at its projected lowest point for the next 12 months is below the required minimum balance. This required balance is typically equal to two months of escrow payments. It helps to protect you, so you have enough funds in the account to cover an unexpected tax and/or insurance increase.

If your taxes and/or insurance costs were lower than expected, your account may have a surplus. If the surplus is $50 or more, those escrow funds will be transmitted back to borrowers in early April.

If you are experiencing a financial burden due to the increase of your monthly payment resulting from an escrow shortage, you can contact customer service to request that the shortage be spread over a greater period (such as 24 months instead of 12). Other loss mitigation assistance options are available as well should the increase in payment cause true financial hardship for you.