Understand the basics of escrow, taxes, and insurance.

We analyze your escrow account once a year. Sometimes an additional analysis is required due to changes to your escrowed items (i.e., changes in insurance or taxes), or terms of your loan (i.e., a loan modification). You can also request an analysis if you want your payments adjusted after a change in your insurance or taxes.

There are many factors that determine whether your escrow can be waived. Please contact Client Services at 800-634-7928 to determine if you are eligible to have your escrow waived.

Our policy is to mail annual escrow statements. We’ll let you know once we’re able to go paperless for escrow statements as well.

You may access your escrow statements online or via the mobile app. If you need escrow statements that are older, please call us to request copies.

Questions about real estate tax increases, your assessed value, and tax rates can best be answered by directly contacting your local real estate taxing authority. Your insurance company can answer questions about your insurance premium.

Increases or decreases typically occur when a change occurs in your real estate taxes or your homeowners insurance policies. These specific cases may be impacted by their own circumstances.

Hazard insurance: Your premium may be different as a result of changes to the type or extent of your insurance coverage, or if your insurance company changed your insurance rate. We encourage you to contact your insurance company or local insurance agent for any questions regarding changes to your hazard insurance premiums.

Real estate taxes: Your real estate taxes may be different as a result of your property being reassessed or if the tax rate has changed. Unexpected tax bills for special assessments charged by our local tax office will also impact the amount we collect for your real estate taxes. We encourage you to contact your local tax office for any questions regarding changes to your real estate taxes.

New construction: Differences may occur with partially assessed real estate tax bills for new construction. Typically, the first tax bill for new property is only for the lot/land. We may have received a bill for the fully assessed value which includes the land and the house.

Initial escrow deposit: Escrow is sometimes estimated at loan closing because information may not be available at that time. If the amount collected for the setup of your escrow account was more or less than the actual bills received for real estate taxes and/or insurance premiums, this will cause your monthly mortgage payment to change.

Shortages can be paid in full 15 days before your new monthly payment change date noted on your escrow statement.

• Sign in to your account to pay online.
• If you receive paper billing statements, you can simply write in the shortage amount under the “Additional Escrow” field on the billing coupon when mailing your mortgage payment.
• You may also call Client Services at 800-634-7928 to make a shortage payment over the phone without any fee.

No. Your payment change generally includes two things: Shortage in your current escrow account balance, as well as adjustment to your monthly escrow amount going forward. While paying the outstanding escrow shortage reduces the deficit, Truist still has to adjust the collection amounts needed to keep up with those changes for the coming year.

However, your monthly mortgage amount will increase less if you pay it in full rather than choosing the 12-month spread. Otherwise, 1/12 of the shortage is added to your principal and interest each month along with the extra funds needed to keep up with those taxes and/or premiums.

Keep an eye on changes to your bills for property taxes and homeowners insurance. Your local tax office and insurance provider should notify you of changes to your bill even though we pay those bills out of your escrow account.

You can view the payments made to the tax authority and/or insurance carrier in your account at any time. These will reflect changes in the available escrow balance.

You can also sign up for alerts on Truist.com to receive notifications whenever we make a payment on your behalf from your escrow account. You can also be alerted when an escrow analysis is coming up for your account.

Prior to the annual analysis, you can fund your escrow account to help avoid a shortage. You can also shop for equal or better coverage with other carriers that could result in reduced premiums for your homeowners insurance.