Let's talk about "escrow". To finalize the sale of a house, a neutral, third party (the escrow agent) is employed to assure the process will close appropriately and on time. A place is said to be in escrow when in the closing transaction, funds is held by a third party on behalf of a buyer and a seller when the exchange of money takes place. PayPal is a simple way to think of an escrow company.
The escrow agent makes sure that the terms and conditions of the agreement between the sellers and the buyers are reached prior to the sale being finalized.
Escrow holders look for the following forms:
- 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
- Loan documents
- Tax statements
You're ready to close when all parts are complete in escrow process. All expenses like title insurance, inspections and real estate commissions are paid. The home's title is given to you and title insurance begins per the policies of your particular escrow agreement.
At the close of escrow, payments of funds are made in an acceptable form to the escrow. As your real estate agent, I'll let you know what is an acceptable form of payment.