Impound Account - Central Coast Lending

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Impound Account

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The Escrow Impound Account

The Pros and Cons of an Escrow Impound Account

An escrow impound account is a trust account held by the lender of your new loan to facilitate the collection and payment of your property taxes and/or homeowner’s insurance. If you elect to have an escrow impound account, you simply pay 1/12 of your annual property taxes and 1/12 of your annual homeowner’s insurance in addition to your regular required mortgage payment every month. Impound accounts are not generally required unless you have less than 10% equity in your home.

Why would you want (or not want) an escrow impound account? Let’s look at some of the pros and cons.

Pros

Generally you get a reduction in closing costs for establishing the account
There are no fees or service charges for the account
The lender is responsible for the timely payment of your taxes and insurance
No additional budgeting is required to insure that you have adequate funds to pay the large bills when they are due
Taxes are due right before Christmas and then tax season; who wants to have to cut multi-thousand dollar check in those months?
The County Tax Assessor charges a 10% penalty for late taxes, the lender will be responsible for this if they are late
Never suffer a lapse in insurance because you forgot to pay the bills

Cons

You do not earn interest on the balance of the account
When the account is first established, 2-8 months of property taxes may be required to be placed in the account (depending on the time of the year)

What are the associated fees and payments

The Verdict

Perhaps I’m a little biased, but I believe the pros seem to outweigh the cons. A few other things to note:

The impound account can usually be canceled at any time.
The accounts are under trust regulation so the accounting is spot on.
They just make life a little easier.

Lenders want you to have an impound account. In the event of a foreclosure, they are generally past due taxes and a lapsed insurance policy, which add to the cost out of pocket for that lender when they foreclose.

Lenders prefer you to have an account so they always know the status of those payments and can minimize losses when necessary, and reduce the amount of closing costs. For lenders, an escrow impound account is incentive for your participation.

Step 1. Get Pre-Approved.

Let's Get Started!

How Does Pre-Approval Work?

Getting pre-approved is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Create an Account

Creating an account is fast, easy, secure and FREE! Your account enables you to easily modify your loan application and view the status of your loan anytime day or night.

2. Submit Information

When you register for a Loan Center account, you can submit a loan application online and the sensitive information that you provide will be transmitted securely.

3. Get Pre-Approved

Kick your feet up while we crunch the numbers. Pre-approval can be done very quickly if you provide a complete and accurate loan application and supporting documentation.

The Escrow Impound Account

The Pros and Cons of an Escrow Impound Account

Pros