Frequently Asked Questions - Buyer Escrow

A title company will hold funds and documents until the property is recorded with the county. In some countries or some East coast states, this task is done by a lawyer. During escrow, the title company finds any/all the liens on the property so that the seller (bank) can pay them off. Once all liens are removed, a "clear title" is conveyed to the buyer.

Yes. Typically there are contingencies in the deal that have to be met in order to close. The most common is "due diligence" which means we have a period of time to do inspections and confirm that we want the property. The second is "appraisal" which means that if your lender appraises the property and it comes in less than the purchase amount, the appraisal is "busted." A buyer can get out of deal if we find problems during the inspection OR if the appraisal is busted.

Generally these add up to about 2% of the purchase of the property. Some of these are covered by the seller IF they are are a part of the purchase agreement. When you go into escrow, we will providing you with a "net sheet" which breaks down your estimated fees. A few days before we close, you will get an accurate breakdown of fees from the title company.

Usually no. Unless the property is privately owned, you will be forced to use the seller's title company. The good news is that most title companies are within nickels of each other so this battle isn't worth fighting.

Here are some ballpark numbers for you:

• Cash Deals (2-3 weeks) 
• Conventional Loans (4-6 weeks)
• Short Sales (6 weeks - 2 years)

Stay in touch!!!!! There is a ton of paperwork. If you don't have a printer and a fax/scanner , we are going to have major problems. There will be about 50 pages worth of documents to be faxed back and forth. Many of these are time sensitive. A $150 fax/copier can be the difference between the home of your dreams and what you had to settle for.