What should I do if I’m having problems with my escrow or impound account?

An escrow account is an account set up by your mortgage lender to pay certain property-related expenses on your behalf, like property taxes and homeowners insurance. It’s set up to help you pay these expenses through your lender or servicer, little by little every month, instead of you getting a big bill once or twice a year. An escrow account is sometimes called an impound account. Learn more about how escrow accounts work.

Your property taxes and insurance premiums can change from year to year. If your property taxes and/or insurance premiums change, your total monthly payment will change.

It’s important to monitor your mortgage statements, and tax and insurance bills, so you can quickly identify issues with your escrow account if they arise.

Signs that there could be an issue with your escrow account include:

• Changes in your total monthly payment without being notified that your taxes or insurance premiums are going to change
• Servicer-purchased force-placed insurance, which your servicer is allowed to purchase and charge you for under certain circumstances
• A notice from your local government that your property taxes haven’t been paid
  • If your mortgage servicer did not pay your taxes, you should send a copy of the bill along with a notice of error, which is a letter disputing the error, to your mortgage servicer.
  • If the servicer has failed to make timely tax and insurance payments from your escrow account on your behalf, you should contact your tax authority or insurance carrier as soon as possible. If you don’t or your servicer doesn’t pay the property taxes, a tax lien may be put on your property.
• If you notice any of the changes above, the first thing you should do is contact your servicer to verify that these changes aren’t due to a mistake on their end.

If you have an escrow account and your mortgage servicer fails to pay your property taxes, or if you are facing imminent foreclosure or have been served with legal papers, you may need to consult an attorney or a housing counselor.

You can use the CFPB's "Find a Counselor" tool to get a list of housing counseling agencies in your area that are approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). You can also call the HOPE™ Hotline, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at (888) 995-HOPE (4673).

If you have a problem with your mortgage, you can submit a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).