Wake County homeowners who have a mortgage with Wells Fargo may have been surprised by recent increases in their mortgage payments arising from changes to their escrow accounts.
Wells Fargo is moving up when it pays Wake County property taxes for its mortgage holders by two months -- it will now pay taxes in October rather than December -- which means that this year mortgage holders will have just 10 months to pay into their escrow account before taxes must be paid, rather than the usual 12, said bank spokesman Josh Dunn.
Although Wake County hasn't changed the due date for its property taxes, Wells Fargo decided to advance the date to align the property tax payments with "most of the other taxing authorities in North Carolina," Dunn said.
"This is not an increase in fees, or anything like that, on Wells Fargo's part," Dunn added.
Indeed, he said, next year mortgage customers in Wake County could see a decrease in the amount they need to put into escrow for their property taxes when they return to a 12-month cycle. However, escrow payments also can be adjusted to account for changes in homeowners insurance premiums; in addition, taxes can changes as a result of reassessments or adjustments in the tax rate.
The impact of the change will vary.
"Every customer is probably different," Dunn said. "Every customer has a different property tax amount."
About 40,000 Wake County homeowners have mortgages that include escrow accounts, Dunn said. Some mortgage customers choose to pay their taxes and insurance premiums directly rather than through an escrow account.
Wells Fargo mortgage customers who face a hardship as a result of the change, or who want further information, can call the bank at 1-800-678-7986.
David Ranii has been a business reporter at The News & Observer since 1993. Over the years he has covered information technology, banking, insurance, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, media businesses and real estate. Contact him at 919-829-4877 or