What Are the Roles of the Best Escrow Companies in AZ?
Commonly used in real estate transactions, an escrow company holds money and documents between parties. As a neutral third party, the best escrow companies in AZ help facilitate the home buying and selling process.
An escrow company, with the help of an escrow agent, provides an important service during the home buying and selling process. As the homebuyer and seller sign contracts and negotiate details, the escrow company holds all pending documentation and money exchanged between the two groups.
The agent working for the company is often an attorney, but does not have to be under all state laws. The agent maintains a fiduciary responsibility to all parties involved in the transaction.
Once the sales process begins, documents and money will need to be exchanged between the parties involved, and the best escrow companies in AZ facilitate this. All money, funds, titles and securities involved in the transaction are maintained during the closing process by the escrow company and until the property legally changes hands.
This often includes escrow payments or good-faith payments made from the homebuyer to the seller to take the property off the market after offer has been accepted. It also includes the exchange of any down payment and mortgage funds between the buyer and the seller, as well as the title, until all components of the transaction occur. As a middleman, the best escrow companies in AZ reduce the risk of a title changing hands without funding.
What Tasks Do the Best Escrow Companies in AZ Perform?
The escrow holder is a neutral third party that maintains the escrow account and objectively oversees the escrow process, making sure all conditions of the sale are properly met.
The escrow holder’s duties include – but are not limited to – the following.
- Serving as the neutral agent and the liaison between all parties involved.
- Requesting an initial title search to determine the status of title to the property.
- Requesting a beneficiary ‘statement of debt or obligations’ are to be assumed by the buyer.
- Requesting a payoff demand from beneficiaries when the seller is paying off debts.
- Complying with the lender’s requirements as specified in its instructions to escrow.
- Securing releases of all contingencies or other conditions imposed on the escrow.
- Preparing or securing the deed and other documents related to escrow.
- Prorating taxes, interest, insurance, and rents.
- Preparing escrow instructions.
- Receiving purchase funds from the buyer.
- Receiving loan funds from buyer’s lender.
- Closing the escrow pursuant to instructions supplied by the seller, buyer and lender.
- Recording the deed and any other documents.
- Disbursing funds as authorized by the instructions, including charges for title insurance, recording fees, real estate commissions and loan payoffs.
- Preparing final statements for all parties involved that account for the disposition of all funds held in the escrow account.
- Requesting the title insurance policy.
The Escrow Process
Your escrow is created shortly after you execute the purchase agreement to sell your home. It cannot be successfully completed until all escrow instructions have been carried out and all parties have signed escrow documents. The length of escrow can range from a few days to several months, depending on the terms of the purchase agreement.
Opening the Escrow
Either your real estate agent or the buyer’s agent may open the escrow for you. As soon as you execute the sales agreement, the buyer’s Agent will place the initial deposit into an escrow account. At the opening of escrow, you may be asked to provide identification information such as your birth date and social security number. This information remains confidential.
If you need help with any aspect of escrow for your real estate transactions, trust one of the best escrow companies in AZ! Call our office today so we can discuss ways that we can help makes yours a stress-less, seamless experience.
