Can I lower my escrow since my house's value decreased?

They will reduce your escrow payments but not until the lender does an annual review of escrow accounts to make adjustments, usually this is done in February. At that point they will adjust your payment accordingly but I don't think you can get them to do it any sooner than their annual review period.

There are federal laws in place that limit how much the lender can impound for tax and insurance reserves.. Most lenders will do an annual assessment and either raise your monthly payment to accommodate higher taxes and/or insurance, or they will lower your payment and refund you any overage during this assessment.. so.. There is no need to contact them.. They will do it automatically.. I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

Your mortgage lender (servicer) is required to do an escrow account analysis not less than once per year (and I have never seen them do something mid-year, except to correct an error they made). The analysis will factor into your new impound payment current taxes and insurance premiums. If there is a surplus above a specific threshold, you will probably receive a refund and your monthly portion should decline. Unfortunately, you cannot force them to do it early, and I have never heard of a situation where they will. You can ask them to do the analysis early, but don't be surprised if they tell you no. ~ Bert Carpenter, The LoansA2z team of NOVA Home Loans ~ NMLS 40586 ~ www.LoansA2z.com 888-889-9950

Absolutely. Provide a copy of your new tax bill or other proof of the reduction and fax it to your current mortgage servicer. You will need to call the current servicer (lender) and ask for the fax number to the escrow department. Specifically, request for the escrow department to readjust your monthly escrow amounts. Your lender has no advantage in overcollecting your escrow amounts. They are also required by federal law to adjust escrow items as appropriate. Lastly, you may want to check with your insurance carrier and determine if your insurance can also be lowered.Call me with any questions. I have over 20 years working with customers across the country.John Desmond888-407-1592

After your servicer does an escrow analysis, they will resolve it. Best Of Luck!