Whether it's your first place or your next place, I'll walk you through the process. Call me at (512) 422-8088 and I'll give all the info you'll need to move forward.
Escrow 101
Escrow: When you're closing on your new home, an escrow agent is used to insure the process will close without problems and in a certain amount of time. When money is held by a third party in a transaction between a buyer and a seller, it's in escrow. For example, in an Internet auction, PayPal is the neutral third party that obtains the buyer's cash, and then hands over the funds to the seller.
The escrow agent makes sure that the terms and conditions of the agreement between the two parties are met in preparation of the sale being completed.
The certificates the escrow holder may collect include:
- Loan documents
- Tax statements
- Fire and other insurance policies
- Title insurance policies
- Terms of sale and any seller-assisted financing
- Requests for payment for various services to be paid out of escrow funds
Closing on the home takes place when all of the procedures of the escrow are finished. All expenses like title insurance, inspections and real estate commissions are paid. The property's title gets transferred to you and title insurance is issued per the steps of your individual escrow process.
When closing is done, you'll make a payment to the escrow holder. I'll keep you up-to-date on what comes next.
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The Escrow Holder Will: |
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The Escrow Holder Won't: |
- Write escrow guidelines
- Perform a title research
- Meet lender's standards as noted in the escrow agreement
- Intake payments from the buyer
- Prorate tax, interest, insurance and other fees according to instructions
- Record deeds and other documents as instructed
- Obtain title insurance policy
- Close escrow when all terms of agreement of seller and buyer are met
- Disburse monies and finalize instructions
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- Advise you - the escrow holder stays a neutral, third-party status
- Give insight about the outcome of your taxes
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Mortgage Escrow Account
Often, to pay recurring costs while there's a loan on the house, a Mortgage Escrow Account is created. Usually, the home buyer makes a payment at closing and also makes regular deposits through their monthly mortgage payment to fund the Escrow Account.
This is a simple outline of the escrow process. Your particular methods might be different based on your bank and your escrow company.