Whether it's your first property or your next house, I'll walk you through the process.
E-mail me at
agent@pipelineroi.com.
Escrow 101
Let's talk about "escrow". When you're closing on your new house, an escrow agent is used to insure the process will close appropriately and on time.
A home is said to be in escrow when in the closing process, funds is held by a third party on behalf of two parties (in this case, a buyer and a seller) when the transaction is taking place.
For example, in an online purchase, PayPal is the reliable third party that obtains the buyer's payment, and then hands over the funds to the seller.
The escrow agent is careful to assure that all terms and conditions of the seller's and buyer's negotiated agreement are performed prior to the sale being completed. This includes receiving monies and documents, finishing required forms, and getting the release documents for any loans or liens that were paid off with the transaction, assuring you have a clean title to your home before the asking price is fully paid.
These are the records that escrow agents usually look to collect:
- Tax statements
- Fire and other insurance policies
- Title insurance policies
- Terms of sale and any seller-assisted financing
- Requests for payment for various services to be paid out of escrow funds
- Loan documents
You're ready to close when all steps are complete in escrow process.
All payments owed and fees are collected and paid at this time (covering expenses such as title insurance, inspections, real estate commissions).
Title to the house is then given to you as buyer and correct title insurance is issued as outlined in the escrow instructions.
When closing is completely finished, you'll pay the fees to the escrow holder.
I'll keep you informed on the procedure.
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The Escrow Holder Will: |
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The Escrow Holder Won't: |
- Assemble escrow guidelines
- Petition title research
- Meet lender's guidelines as noted in the escrow agreement
- Intake funds from the buyer
- Prorate tax, interest, insurance and other fees according to instructions
- Record deeds and other legal documents as instructed
- Request title insurance policy
- Close escrow when all terms of agreement of seller and buyer are complete
- Disburse funds and finish instructions
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- Give advice - the escrow company has to remain an impartial, third-party status
- Give insight about future tax estimations
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Mortgage Escrow Account
Creating a Mortgage Escrow Account helps keep track of on-going expenses while there's a loan on your house.
Usually, the home buyer makes a payment at closing and also makes regular deposits through their monthly mortgage payment to fund the Escrow Account.
This is a simple outline of the escrow process. Your individual methods will be slightly different depending on your bank and your escrow agent.