When you finance your home with a mortgage, your lender will likely require you to maintain an escrow account. With this setup, a portion of your monthly mortgage payment is set aside to cover your annual property taxes and home insurance premiums.
Lenders want to protect their financial investment when they loan you money; an escrow account acts as a forced savings account to ensure those property expenses are paid on time and in full, says Ed Santiago, a branch manager with Fairway Independent Mortgage in Wayne, Pa.
