Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 8201 — Escrow

fhlmc-8201

Chapter 8201 of the Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide governs escrow account management for property taxes, ground rents, assessments and other charges, annual escrow analysis, waiver of escrow accounts, non-payment of escrow charges, and interest on escrow accounts. NOTE: actual title is "Escrow".

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source:
  type: regulation
  id: fhlmc-8201
  authority: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 8201 — Escrow
  description: |
    Chapter 8201 of the Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide
    governs escrow account management for property taxes, ground rents,
    assessments and other charges, annual escrow analysis, waiver of
    escrow accounts, non-payment of escrow charges, and interest on
    escrow accounts. NOTE: actual title is "Escrow".
obligations:
  - id: fhlmc-8201-pay-escrow-items-before-penalty-date
    canonical_id: fhlmc-8201-pay-escrow-items-before-penalty-date
    section: Freddie Mac Guide Section 8201.1 — Escrow account management
    description: |
      [LENDER] must obtain bills for and pay all Escrow items in accordance
      with the terms of the Mortgage before the applicable penalty or
      termination date, and must maintain adequate records to prove payment
      of all property taxes, ground rents, and assessments or other charges
      that, if delinquent, are or may become First Liens on the property.
    type: do
    audit_question: Can [LENDER] evidence that, for every Freddie Mac-serviced Mortgage with an Escrow account, bills for all Escrow items were obtained and the items paid before the applicable penalty or termination date, with adequate records retained to prove payment?
    program_review: Does the program ensure all Escrow items are billed and paid before the applicable penalty/termination date, with adequate records proving payment of taxes, ground rents, and assessments that could become First Liens?
    file_review: For escrowed loans, confirm Escrow items were paid before penalty/termination dates and that payment records are retained.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: servicing
    owner_role: escrow_analyst
    secondary_owner_role: compliance_officer
    cadence: continuous
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - fhlmc
      - freddie-mac
      - servicing-guide
      - escrow
      - tax-payment
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8201.1
      source_class: fhlmc-guide
      source_url: https://guide.freddiemac.com/ci-guide
      snapshot_id: 5869ee9e606cd4ae
      fetched_at: '2026-05-23T00:27:40Z'
      content_hash: sha256:9a1b23e5024bb369e7a59d36b3702383c11ace68b5d209fdef791bc8f955c637
      paragraph_quote: The Servicer must obtain bills for and pay all Escrow items in accordance with the terms of the
      drafter_attestation: Copied verbatim from Freddie Mac Guide snapshot 5869ee9e606cd4ae (Chapter 8201) at 2026-05-22.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-23T00:44:50+00:00'
    promoted_from: fhlmc-8201-roundb-v1.yaml
  - id: fhlmc-8201-annual-escrow-analysis
    canonical_id: fhlmc-8201-annual-escrow-analysis
    section: Freddie Mac Guide Section 8201.1(a) — Annual Escrow analysis
    description: |
      [LENDER] must, at least annually, compute the required Escrow payment
      based on reasonable estimates of assessments and bills to determine
      that sufficient funds are being collected to meet all Escrow
      payments.
    type: do
    audit_question: Can [LENDER] evidence that, for every Freddie Mac-serviced Mortgage with an Escrow account, an annual Escrow analysis was performed using reasonable estimates of assessments and bills to confirm sufficiency of Escrow collection?
    program_review: Does the program ensure an at-least-annual Escrow analysis computes the required Escrow payment from reasonable estimates to confirm sufficiency of collection?
    file_review: Confirm an annual Escrow analysis was performed for escrowed loans using reasonable estimates.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: servicing
    owner_role: escrow_analyst
    secondary_owner_role: compliance_officer
    cadence: annual
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - fhlmc
      - freddie-mac
      - servicing-guide
      - escrow
      - annual-analysis
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8201.1(a)
      source_class: fhlmc-guide
      source_url: https://guide.freddiemac.com/ci-guide
      snapshot_id: 5869ee9e606cd4ae
      fetched_at: '2026-05-23T00:27:40Z'
      content_hash: sha256:9a1b23e5024bb369e7a59d36b3702383c11ace68b5d209fdef791bc8f955c637
      paragraph_quote: At least annually, the Servicer must compute the required Escrow payment based on
      drafter_attestation: Copied verbatim from Freddie Mac Guide snapshot 5869ee9e606cd4ae (Chapter 8201) at 2026-05-22.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-23T00:44:50+00:00'
    promoted_from: fhlmc-8201-roundb-v1.yaml
  - id: fhlmc-8201-written-escrow-waiver-policy
    canonical_id: fhlmc-8201-written-escrow-waiver-policy
    section: Freddie Mac Guide Section 8201.1(b) — Waiver of Escrow accounts
    description: |
      [LENDER] must have a written policy governing the circumstances under
      which Escrow accounts may be waived, and (when waivers are permitted)
      that policy must require evaluation of the Borrower's financial
      ability to handle lump-sum payments of property taxes, property
      insurance premiums and other Security-Instrument charges — not solely
      the loan-to-value ratio.
    type: maintain
    audit_question: Can [LENDER] produce its written Escrow-waiver policy, and evidence that the policy conditions any waiver on the Borrower's financial ability to handle lump-sum payments rather than solely on the loan-to-value ratio?
    program_review: Does the program have a written Escrow-waiver policy that conditions any waiver on the Borrower's financial ability to handle lump-sum charges (not solely LTV)?
    file_review: Review the written waiver policy for the financial-ability condition; spot-check any granted waivers for conformance.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: servicing
    owner_role: escrow_analyst
    secondary_owner_role: compliance_officer
    cadence: continuous
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - fhlmc
      - freddie-mac
      - servicing-guide
      - escrow
      - escrow-waiver
      - written-policy
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8201.1(b)
      source_class: fhlmc-guide
      source_url: https://guide.freddiemac.com/ci-guide
      snapshot_id: 5869ee9e606cd4ae
      fetched_at: '2026-05-23T00:27:40Z'
      content_hash: sha256:9a1b23e5024bb369e7a59d36b3702383c11ace68b5d209fdef791bc8f955c637
      paragraph_quote: The Servicer must have a written policy governing the circumstances under which Escrow
      drafter_attestation: Copied verbatim from Freddie Mac Guide snapshot 5869ee9e606cd4ae (Chapter 8201) at 2026-05-22.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-23T00:44:50+00:00'
    promoted_from: fhlmc-8201-roundb-v1.yaml
_promotion_history:
  - promoted_at: '2026-05-23T00:44:50+00:00'
    candidate_path: obligations\_remediation\_round_b_drafts\fhlmc-8201-roundb-v1.yaml
    candidates_promoted: 3
    candidates_skipped_existing: 0

Verbatim regulatory text (3)

Verbatim provisions from Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Chapter 8201 — Escrow — each quote is a verified substring of the regulator-published source snapshot, not retyped. Quoted for reference; this is not legal advice. The operational layer (P&P updates, prompts) lives in the regulation update kits.

Freddie Mac Guide Section 8201.1 — Escrow account management

The Servicer must obtain bills for and pay all Escrow items in accordance with the terms of the

Source: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8201.1 · source URL · snapshot 5869ee9e606cd4ae

Freddie Mac Guide Section 8201.1(a) — Annual Escrow analysis

At least annually, the Servicer must compute the required Escrow payment based on

Source: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8201.1(a) · source URL · snapshot 5869ee9e606cd4ae

Freddie Mac Guide Section 8201.1(b) — Waiver of Escrow accounts

The Servicer must have a written policy governing the circumstances under which Escrow

Source: Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide Section 8201.1(b) · source URL · snapshot 5869ee9e606cd4ae