Escrow shortage & surplus

What's an escrow shortage or surplus?
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, a surplus check will be attached to your Annual Escrow Analysis. Please detach the check and cash it. For surpluses less than $50, your money will be left in your escrow account.

How could I have a shortage?
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.

What are my options for paying my escrow shortage?
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. Your monthly payment should update within five days of paying 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. During the month after your Annual Escrow Analysis is complete, you can go to your chase.com Escrow Summary page and use the convenient calculator to see what effect a partial payment will have on your next year’s mortgage payment.

How do I make a shortage payment online?
To make a shortage payment on your Escrow account, sign into your chase.com account and follow these steps:

• From your mortgage loan account, choose Pay Mortgage
• Choose the Principal/escrow/fee only option
• Enter the shortage amount you want to pay in the Additional escrow/shortage and click on Pay this bill

Can I mail an escrow shortage payment?
If you mail your shortage payment to us, please send it to the following address with the coupon from your escrow statement:

Chase
P.O. Box 78420
Phoenix, AZ 85062-8420

If I pay my escrow shortage, will my monthly payment remain the same?
Your payment may still go up, even if you pay the entire shortage, if your taxes or insurance increase. Sign in to chase.com to use our escrow shortage payment calculator to see how partial or full shortage payments will affect your monthly mortgage payment.

When can I make my shortage payment?

1. You can pay all or part of your shortage as soon as your analysis is complete through the next month.
2. After you make your shortage payment, you'll receive a statement 7-10 days later showing the shortage payment and your new monthly payment amount.
3. Any escrow-related changes to your mortgage payment will go into effect on your due date one month after your analysis is completed.

For example, if your analysis is completed in January, a payment change would take effect in March. Please note that even if you pay all of your shortage, your monthly payment may still change if your taxes and/or insurance increase.

How can I prevent a shortage from happening in the future?
You may not be able to prevent a shortage, but you can minimize the impact by staying informed about your escrow account. You can sign up for free alerts at chase.com. You can sign in your account at chase.com and see what payment was made from your escrow account and compare it to what we projected in your Annual Escrow Analysis.

If it’s higher than projected, you can make an additional escrow payment online to help lower or prevent a shortage.

My escrow payment went down, so my monthly payment is lower.
When I can I start paying the lower amount?
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).