Your Escrow Officer and support staff are there to handle the process and execute a successful closing. They are a disinterested third party. They are following instructions received from you the buyer and seller. These instructions are written as a fully executed sales purchase contract. Shortly after you have opened an escrow account, you will receive a Preliminary Title Report and Escrow Instructions. Check them over immediately. The title report will show any liens, judgments, and easements against the subject property. It will also show any judgments against the buyer's name. Sometimes a judgment will show up against someone with the same name as the seller or the buyer. Do not panic when you see one of these. Call your escrow officer and have them check to see if the judgment truly affects you. If you have questions about any item that you see on the report, ask now. Check over your escrow instructions immediately and thoroughly. Each item should correspond exactly as the buyer and seller had agreed to on the purchase contract. If you find any mistakes, report them to your escrow officer and they will make the appropriate change and send you a new set of escrow instructions. If you find a misinterpretation of language that was written in the purchase agreement, you need to report this to the buyer. Agree to what the language should have said and then report this to the escrow officer and they will make the appropriate change. If a dispute arises, there is time to resolve that dispute. Trying to resolve any misinterpretation right before the close of escrow can very often turn into a deal falling apart and worse. Based on the list of items found in the What is Escrow page, check with your escrow officer once a week to make sure that all these items are being handled in a timely manner. If your buyer is getting a mortgage, get permission in writing from the buyer to be able to call the loan officer or loan processor to check on the progress of the loan. Make sure that you have scheduled both yourself and the buyer to sign the final package of documents in time to close the escrow on the scheduled date. |
What Do I Do Once Escrow is Opened? |
Your Escrow Officer and support staff are there to handle the process and execute a successful closing. They are a disinterested third party. They are following instructions received from you the buyer and seller. These instructions are written as a fully executed sales purchase contract. Shortly after you have opened an escrow account, you will receive a Preliminary Title Report and Escrow Instructions. Check them over immediately. The title report will show any liens, judgments, and easements against the subject property. It will also show any judgments against the buyer's name. Sometimes a judgment will show up against someone with the same name as the seller or the buyer. Do not panic when you see one of these. Call your escrow officer and have them check to see if the judgment truly affects you. If you have questions about any item that you see on the report, ask now. Check over your escrow instructions immediately and thoroughly. Each item should correspond exactly as the buyer and seller had agreed to on the purchase contract. If you find any mistakes, report them to your escrow officer and they will make the appropriate change and send you a new set of escrow instructions. If you find a misinterpretation of language that was written in the purchase agreement, you need to report this to the buyer. Agree to what the language should have said and then report this to the escrow officer and they will make the appropriate change. If a dispute arises, there is time to resolve that dispute. Trying to resolve any misinterpretation right before the close of escrow can very often turn into a deal falling apart and worse. Based on the list of items found in the What is Escrow page, check with your escrow officer once a week to make sure that all these items are being handled in a timely manner. If your buyer is getting a mortgage, get permission in writing from the buyer to be able to call the loan officer or loan processor to check on the progress of the loan. Make sure that you have scheduled both yourself and the buyer to sign the final package of documents in time to close the escrow on the scheduled date. |
Jeannine Cutter (702) 283-8882 David Berg (702) 281-5827 |
