I originally didn't have any plans for my economic stimulus check. I was just going to send it to my flexible savings account until I decided what to do with it. Unfortunately, now I know where it will be going and it will not be anywhere fun and it won't be stimulating the economy.

I received the escrow analysis for my rental property this weekend. I knew I was going to be short but I didn't realize I was that short. My escrow balance is currently short $1234.84. They gave me the option of paying the shortage up front and my payment will only increase around $70 or I can pay the shortage over 12 months by adding an additional $102.90 to my mortgage payment.

I don't want my monthly payment to increase by almost $150 so I will probably just pay the shortage in full. After emptying out my rental property account for repairs to my rental property back in February, I'd started to slowly rebuild the account. Thanks to referral bonuses from ING and Revolution Money Exchange, I'd built the balance back up to about $600.

The balance in my rental property savings will now be headed back down to zero and I'll need to start all over again. It really sucks that I'll have to use my stimulus money this way but it's still better than having to take on additional debt. I'd much rather borrow from myself and pay myself interest instead of paying bank.

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Don't forget about Mom. Mother's Day is Sunday May 11th.

Image Credit: dslrninja

When I make my mortgage payment each month, part of the payment is for my escrow account. An escrow account is an account you pay into each month along with your mortgage payment to handle payments for property taxes and insurance. You earn no interest on this money but I'm sure the bank makes a little money off of it. The bank usually reviews the escrow account once a year to determine if they are taking too much money or not taking enough.

I logged into my mortgage account today to make sure all of my taxes had been paid for 2007 and realized my escrow balance is alot higher than it should be. The balance of the account right now is $1114.00!!! I currently pay $289/month into my escrow account which is equal to $3468 after 12 months. Last year, my property taxes were $2354.

What if I handled my own escrow account??

• I would make about $71 in interest. Depositing $217 a month into a savings account paying 5.05% (E*Trade) would yield $2675. ($2604 in contributions and $71 interest)
• I would have an additional $72 each month to add to my freedom accounts or towards my car loan.
  
• By handling my own escrow account, I would have an additional $935.00 a year to save or invest. ($72/month savings and $71 interest)
  

I've sent an email to my SunTrust Mortgage to see what is required to cancel my escrow account. Has anyone been successful getting your escrow account deleted with SunTrust Mortgage? What did you have to do?

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