Property Taxes

I just received a property tax bill and have an escrow account. Do I need to send it to you?

Yes, if you have an escrow account set up for your property taxes and you have received a tax bill, please email a copy to us so we can ensure timely payment. 

When will I receive my 1098 statement for tax purposes?

You will receive a statement from us for the time we serviced your account. We send these statements by January 31st each year. If you are enrolled in paperless statements, we'll notify you by email when your statement is ready to view online. Otherwise, we will mail a paper copy to the mailing address you have provided.

What is a tax exemption?

A real estate tax exemption is a reduction (or elimination) of a property tax liability (this is the amount you owe to your local tax authority for a given year). As a homeowner, you can request a property tax exemption from your local taxing authority. The process for requesting a tax exemption and approval timelines vary by taxing authority.

If you have questions about tax exemptions, please contact us. We'll be happy to help!

I have applied for a tax exemption. When will you reduce my escrow payment?

Not all exemption requests are approved, and some are approved at a lesser amount than you anticipate. As a result, we are unable to change the escrow portion of your monthly mortgage payment until we receive confirmation that the exemption was granted and the amount. 

In our experience, taxing authorities may take up to 90 days to process exemption requests. If you have questions about the status of your request, you may contact your taxing authority. 

My tax exemption request was approved! Now what?

Great news! If you have an escrow account, please email us a copy of the written notification that confirms your tax exemption. We make every effort to proactively monitor your property tax liability to identify new exemptions, however you may be notified that the exemption first.

I was granted a tax exemption. Will I receive a refund for extra funds collected through my previous escrow payments?

We review your escrow account at least annually to help ensure it has enough money to cover your expected tax and/or insurance expenses. Next time we review your escrow account, surplus funds of $50 or more will be returned to you if, at that time, your escrow account has sufficient funds and your mortgage is current (meaning no payments are past due). 

I was granted a full tax exemption and received a refund from my escrow account, but the refund was less than I expected. Why?

If our recent annual escrow analysis found a surplus and you received a refund, there are a few possible reasons it was less than expected. 

For example, if your escrow account is also set up for other expenses like homeowner’s insurance and/or HOA fees, one or more of these other expenses may have increased. 

In addition, a tax refund will be impacted by the effective date of the exemption. If you received a 100% tax exemption effective June 1, 2023, the escrow portion of your monthly payment will be updated at that time. However we may need to retain funds previously collected to in order to cover property taxes due for the period ending May 31, 2023.