i think this depends on the type of mortgage you have. For my mortgage it doesn't matter if I have 20% paid off or not. I have to have an escrow account. I prefer it that way anyways, then I don't have to worry about paying taxes. The bank takes care of it for me.
You should contact your bank and ask them.

I wasn't aware anyone was ever required to have an escrow account. I assume this is an account for the lending agent to pay the taxes and insurance for you.

I never had one. I never wanted to trust anyone else with such a big responsibility.

A friend of mine had one, and never saw her tax papers, as the bank just paid them. She was not aware for years that she was paying too much, as the taxes were not figured with a mortgage and homestead exemption on them.

I feel safer handling such important matters myself. I don't have much trust in the quality of the work that others do...have seen way too much, in a lot of different places. No one seems to care much or know how to do a good job 100% of the time.

If I want something done right, I just do it myself....been that ways for years now.

Sorry if I sound cynical of others.

Sue

Sue in regards to your friend, I liked the escrow account because it was hard for me to pay the taxes and insurance because I did not set up a savings account for that purpose. BUT, the county (in Calif) was required to send me a copy of the tax bill each time, plus the year end statement show that amount paid. It also show what the taxes were figured on etc. Maybe the state/county your friend lives in, did not do this. Also the state has a law stating that only so much above paid could be held in the account and interest had to be paid also to the customer. That is why we felt safe because we were aware of the amounts etc.

I've had mortgages (usually the kind with PMI) which required escrow. Since then I've avoided PMI and escrow. Why shouldn't I have use of my own money?

To respond to the OP's question, check your mortgage documents. They'll tell you if you can discontinue escrow and who to contact to do it.

mariend, my escrow is like yours. I see my tax bills as they are sent to my house, however they say "paid" on them when i recieve them. Also I get to see the escrow account statements and see the interest I earn.
We didn't have a choice in the matter however I think I would continue with the escrow if I had a choice as it is easy for us. We don't have to worry about saving for the taxes, as we already do it automatically. So we don't have unexpected huge payments that need to be made. It is like my car insurance, I always seem to forget it has been a year and I get my bill and am get mad because I forgot how much it costs to insure the car. It isn't that I dont' have the money but it costs alot, like taxes, and it just upsets me! I like not having to see the bill until it is paid. Makes it easier on me!

scryn - you might want to check your mortgage docs again. IINM, you should not pay PMI if you have greater than 20% equity in your home. IINM, I think it's illegal for a lender to force you to have an escrow account, especially when you have greater than 20% equity.

We had an escrow account for the first home we bought. NEVER again! They overcharged us for property taxes and it took us forever to get the large refund. With our current mortgage, I told the lender flat out- no escrow account or we will go elsewhere.

My lender required a hardcopy letter with our request on the anniversary date of the loan. If I recall, I sent it about a month before that date.

A few years ago, we simply wrote a letter to our mortgage company asking them to discontinue the escrow. No problem. They closed the account and sent us a refund check. We did have to personally visit our Town Tax Collectors office to get the tax bills sent to us directly. I like getting the bill sent to us rather than trusting the mortgage company. Wait I minute, did I just say I LIKE getting a bill?

Like others have suggested, check the "fine print" on those 15+ pages of your mortgage that nobody ever reads. An escrow account might be required, as this lets the mortgage holder play with your money, while paying peanuts in interest, until they pay your taxes.
If escrow is NOT required, then you can deposit the escrow amount into a money market account, or perhaps even short-term CD's, until taxes & insurance are due. You'll likely earn more interest, and while the amount may seem trivial, a few hundred in your pocket is better than a few hundred in their pocket!

sparksals, I do not have PMI, that is different. I am only talking about an escrow account. We have a first time home owners mortgage that required us to pay hardly any down payment. It is not a sally may mortgage.
We get the interest from our escrow account. Every year the bank that holds the account for the mortgage provider sends us a statement. We can see how much interest we get and where our money has gone. I am surprised to learn that other escrow accounts are not like this!

I assume it is because our mortgage anticipated that we are lower income and that maybe we will have a harder time trying to save so it forces your to set up an savings account by calling it an escrow account. We are not low income however we did not have much money to put down on the house when we purchased it.

Anyways, I like the way our escrow account works and do not mind having it. My taxes our pretty low here so my escrow is about 1 grand. I don't have that much money in it. I can see how people that pay more money would be worried about fraud.