Buying a home is a big deal. So much comes into play. It’s not just the purchase of a home; it’s also the financing and purchase of all the items that go along with owning real estate, such as insurance and taxes. An escrow agent helps make sure these costs are paid on time and keeps track of where your money goes during escrow.
What is Escrow?
Escrow is a process where a neutral third party holds funds for a transaction, such as the sale of real estate. An escrow company protects both buyers and sellers if one side fails to honor their part of the agreement.
Escrow companies are regulated by state law. However, there are some common features:
Escrow companies are licensed and bonded (to ensure they have enough money to cover legal responsibilities). We also must meet minimum standards of financial strength set by their industry regulators.
We collect money from both parties involved in the transaction and hold it until certain terms have been met.
When you buy a home, money is placed in escrow expenses like homeowner’s insurance or property taxes.
Escrow accounts are held by an independent third party such as a title company or bank. This is where your down payment and other funds go. And it stays there until the transaction is closed. When you close on the house, your lender withdraws money from escrow and gives it to the seller.
If there are leftover funds in your account after closing (or if you had some extra dollars withheld from the purchase price), escrow will return those funds to you. If, on the other hand, there is not enough cash left over after all fees are paid out to cover what was held in escrow—for example, if the buyer didn’t pay enough property taxes at closing—the lender might ask them to come up with the difference.
Escrow Statement
An escrow itemization statement details the amount of money in escrow. It also details how these funds will be utilized. This document also breaks down the terms of your mortgage loan, along with other pertinent information.
Your Lender will Use Escrow funds to Pay Taxes and Insurance when they become due.
Once the loan is in escrow, the lender will use those funds to pay your tax and insurance bills on time when they become due. That’s why you need to make sure your escrow agent is reliable.
Escrow Agent Responsibilities:
Managing Payments
Your lender will use the money in escrow to make timely mortgage payments. The amount of money that should go into each account depends on how much money they expected to collect from borrowers at closing.
Escrow agents can help sellers with important documents like deeds, contracts, and property title transfers.
An Escrow Agent may also Verify that Signatures on Deeds, Contracts, and other Documents are valid.
You may wonder how you can verify signatures on documents. This is where the escrow agent comes in. They will make sure that everything is ready for closing and that all signatures are valid. An escrow agent may also verify signatures on deeds, contracts and other documents are valid.
Notaries can be found at banks, post offices and other locations such as title companies or law firms. If you have any questions about these services or any other aspect of your transaction, feel free to give us a call!
Escrow Agents and Agencies Make Dealing with Financial Transactions Smoother:
They make dealing with financial transactions smoother.
They take care of the paperwork, money matters, legal documents, and property—all while you’re still paying off your house.
They work with an appraiser to ensure that the new value of your home is what it should be for closing purposes. If there are any discrepancies between what was agreed upon during escrow and what is in place on paper (or even if there aren’t), then an escrow agent can help figure out why this happened so that everyone involved knows where they stand before moving forward with closing day logistics or whatever else comes next after buying a house!
The escrow process is a great way to handle financial transactions, especially when you’re buying or selling a home. Escrow agents can help sellers with important documents like deeds, contracts, and property title transfers. They also verify signatures on these documents are valid so that things go smoothly. Escrow agents and agencies make dealing with financial transactions smoother by eliminating any trust issues you might have about handling large sums of money yourself.
ABOUT EASTLAND ESCROWS IN COVINA, CALIFORNIA
If you’re a real estate agent or broker representing buyers and sellers. Or, if you are considering buying or selling a home, please consider calling Eastland Escrows, Inc. to manage the escrow account. We are an independent escrow company based in Covina, CA serving Southern California since 1973. With more than 100 years of combined experience, we pride ourselves in working like a dog on behalf of all our clients! We have closed thousands of escrow transactions from real estate sales and refinances to business sales and mobile homes.