Comments on: Mortgage Payments are Never Fixed

By: Blaine Moore (First

Blaine Moore (First — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:28:55 +0000

Thankfully, I make a small amount of interest on my escrow payments. That being said, I budget seperately for the insurance and tax costs of my house than for the mortgage itself, which is in fact fixed. The only part of that that fluctuates is that my principal payment is larger each month since I’m paying it down and I usually add a bit extra to speed up the process.

By: Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge / Mortgage Payments are Never Fixed Redux

Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge / Mortgage Payments are Never Fixed Redux — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 19:18:04 +0000

[...] Jim at Blueprint has an article about mortgage payments never being fixed. Funny that. He sounds like me! [...]

By: tinyhands

tinyhands — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 16:20:11 +0000

Echo from another homeowner WITHOUT an escrow account. It takes discipline to set aside the money, but it’s my money and I prefer to be in control. Plus, I know two people whose mortgage companies underfunded their escrow accounts and got hit with HUGE tax penalties at year end. One had to sell her home. (Granted, she should have been keeping an eye on her statements.)

You may not have to refinance to close your escrow account. It depends on who is servicing your mortgage. Call them, but be prepared to pay a fee ($50-150) and make sure that you establish insurance and get the tax bill sent to you. Your lender usually has the right to charge you (and it ain’t cheap) if you fail to get insurance, and your municipality usually has the right to seize your home if you don’t pay your taxes.

By: lpkiten

lpkiten — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 10:17:29 +0000

hi mapgirl! glad to see you are still blogging!

By: Doug

Doug — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 03:28:38 +0000

Don’t fret….you blog about $25 variations in your payment. Think of all those idiots that took on a pay option ARM when mortgage rates were at historic lows… they’re seeing hundreds $$$ of dollars in variation and are JUST NOW deciding maybe a fixed rate would make sense…of course, it made a lot more sense 2 YEARS AGO!

By: Rob Carlson

Rob Carlson — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 02:51:37 +0000

fluctuate, v., never go down.

By: Adventures In Money

Adventures In Money — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 19:51:27 +0000

I hate it when I get letters like that from mortgage companies. first of all they rarely tell you which property its for. just the loan number, which sucks if you have multiple properties. 2ndly, they’ll give you a refund and then say that there’s a shortfall so you need to send in an extra $125!!!

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:52:54 +0000

Your mortgage payment on a fixed rate doesn’t change. Your taxes and insurance may, and often do. They are not your mortgage, even if you pay it all to the same servicer. Does that make it difficult to budget, well, a little more difficult, but doesn’t your car insurance change occasionally, your electric usage, the cost of gas (if you drive), the cost of peanut butter, the price of your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant?

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 17:18:56 +0000

Shortly after closing on my first home, our mortgage payment (we have 2) that contains tax and insurance escrow went from $1652 to $1766 per month because of increases in taxes. Oh, and Allstate decided that I needed more coverage because of the higher assessment (I have since fixed that).

Then, last year, my payment went up another $15 a month because the mortgage company miscalculated my escrow requirements and needed to fill in.

It’s still better than the $400 increase in rent I would have been stuck with had we stayed where we were.

By: finance girl

finance girl — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 17:13:33 +0000

That’s why I pay my taxes and insurance separately. My mortgage payment will stay the same, it’s a fixed 30 year, but yep taxes and insurance are variable. I put the money aside monthly in a money market mutual fund, so not only am I not having to pay it to escrow, but I am able to earn interest off it until it’s due.

Maybe if down the road you refinance, you can separate them too and pay them on your own? Many people don’t know they can do this, and just assume they have to pay them to the mortgage company.

I think the mortgage companies make huge amounts of money this way, as they are able to invest that money until it’s due.