Every August, escrow officers have to carefully watch lenders instructions when it comes to property taxes. Many times, lenders will call for the first half tax bill to be paid in escrow. The problem for us is that the tax bills for the current year have not been released. In order to satisfy the lenders requirement, we hold funds in the file until the tax bills are released. We hold 1.5 times the previous year amount to insure we are not short when the tax bills are available. This is common practice in escrowland, and every now and then it creates a bit of consternation for a seller. After a bit of careful explaining, sellers understand the process and know a refund check will be coming their way shortly.
UPDATE – While processing this post, I was notified that this year’s tax bills are now online for Maricopa County. What timing!
