text: real estate taxes? if i decide to pay my taxes on my own and not have the bank escrow them..do i have to pay them yearly or can you pay quarterly?  any pros or cons on doing this...thanks first, you made the right decision by not taking the escrow account. this is really an interest free loan that you make to the bank. the taxing authority determines whether you must pay all at once or in installments. usually, there is a discount for paying all at once, which of course is the pro to paying all at once. however, if your taxes are really high, then paying them quarterly might be better, since you could hold onto more of your money and invest it. you would have to perform a cost/benefit analysis, but generally this would be possible on really expensive real estate with high property taxes.