|
Setting up or "opening escrow" involves simply visiting the office of the
escrow or title company which you have selected and handing over the deposit
monies and giving instructions for the transaction. That is all there is to
opening escrow. It is something anyone who’s involved in the transaction may
do - the buyer, the seller, the lender, or the real estate agent. It doesn’t
matter who opens the escrow just so long as those involved in the transaction
have designated someone to do it when they sign the final purchase agreement.
If there is no real estate agent involved, the seller will typically be the
one to start the escrow process, as she will be holding a deposit or good faith
check from the buyer, together with the signed purchase agreement. In for
sale-by-owner transactions, the buyer and the seller may both open
escrow.
To open escrow, you will need to provide the escrow or closing agent with the
following information:
- Purchase price, address and description of the property (this will all be contained in the purchase agreement)
- Seller’s name and address
- Buyer’s name and address
- Parties to whom the preliminary title report or the abstract of title are to be sent (generally they are the buyer, seller and lender).
- Termite report information (who will do the inspection)
- Amount of deposit to be held in escrow
- Insurance agent for the buyer
- Financing information
- Any personal property involved in the sale
- Rent, if any
- Projected closing date
Your escrow officer or title attorney must have all of this information
available to prepare your escrow instructions properly. If all the
information is not available at the time you open escrow, you can provide it
as soon as possible. The better informed he is, the faster he can
process your purchase or sale.
Once your information has been received, your escrow officer will assign your
file an escrow number. It is a good idea to try to always refer to this
number when calling for information or status reports. Your escrow officer will
deposit the earnest money into a separate escrow account and order the title
search to be made. Both buyer and seller will receive a copy of this report.
If there is a lender involved in the transaction, he will see to it that the
lender also receives a copy of the title report. He will work hand-in-hand
with the lender, incorporating any loan fees, prepaid and pro-rata interest
into the escrow instructions. The buyer will normally sign his loan documents
together with his escrow instructions and the seller will normally sign the
grant or warranty deed together with her escrow instructions. The lender and
your escrow or closing officer will coordinate the simultaneous exchange of loan
funds with the closing date of escrow, together with the disbursement of the
sale proceeds to the seller. |
|
|
