WHAT DO WE DO?

During a legal real estate transaction, the buyer and seller are almost always strangers to one another. In order to protect both sides, a third party escrow company will be contractually hired to mediate the real estate transaction from the time an offer is accepted until a grant deed has been recorded and all monies have been disbursed. The third party that acts as a mediator is an escrow company that is represented by a licensed escrow agent. The agent is responsible for coordinating the exchange of documents and money between the buyer, seller and service provider such as agents, brokers, inspectors, or any other company involved within the transaction. 

Escrow companies are a neutral third party who coordinates documents. Escrow accounts will be opened for the purpose of collecting and disbursing funds between all parties. The first deposit into the escrow account is usually the portion of the down payment issued by the buyer with the minimum acceptable amount determined by the seller, broker and realtor. In most cases, the first deposit is a good faith payment to secure the property while in escrow.

After the loan has been funded by the lender, the loan proceeds are then sent to the title company to complete all payoffs. Once the legal documents have been recorded by the County Recorder, funds are then transferred to escrow. From the combined proceeds received by escrow, the escrow officer will pay the respective fees to the service providers along with the appropriate companies. Once the file is balanced, proceeds are then distributed to the brokers, agents, mortgage company, seller and all other companies involved in the transaction.