Guides
Plain answers on escrow, impounds and property taxes
The mechanics nobody explains until they cost you money — what an impound account actually does, what reserves cost at closing, when you can waive them, and the California tax bill that arrives months after you move in.
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What is an impound account?
Impound account, escrow account, reserve account — three names for the same thing. Here is what it actually does, why lenders want one, and what it costs you.
Read the guide → 5 min readEscrow reserves at closing: what they are and what they cost
Of everything on your Loan Estimate, escrow reserves are the line most buyers do not see coming — and one of the few that is genuinely negotiable in structure.
Read the guide → 6 min readEscrow waivers: paying your own taxes and insurance
An escrow waiver removes the lender’s impound requirement. It frees the capital that would have gone into reserves — and hands the responsibility back to you.
Read the guide → 7 min readThe California supplemental tax bill, explained
It arrives months after you move in, it is often for thousands of dollars, and most buyers have never heard of it until it lands in the mailbox.
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