By Kim Parmon, September 10, 2018
I’m a pretty positive lady. I can tell when situations are beyond someone’s control and they’re doing their best. Today, I have a client that finally closed on an REO transaction after weeks of the bank delaying things for very little reason. Hooray for my client making it through a very frustrating experience! I can’t wait to see how he makes this house shine again. And that’s about all that I can say about this deal that’s positive so I’ll take a minute to talk about the role of escrow in real estate.
Escrow is the neutral third party in a real estate transaction that makes sure both parties are taken care of. They’re the ones that hold earnest money in a safe place that neither party has access to until things close. They are the ones that work really hard to make sure a buyer knows everything about the title of the property so that they are safe to buy a place. They are the ones that hold all of the money and all of the documents until everything is done per the terms of the contract and then they will distribute things accordingly. Basically, they are the unsung heroes of real estate that don’t ever really get the credit they deserve. A good escrow officer will make a deal seem smooth and easy, even when things aren’t happening the way they’re supposed to.
Not all escrow officers are created equally, though. While the good ones take care of problems before you even know about them there are also those escrow officers out there that make everything way harder than it needs to be. Occasionally buyers are presented with a choice when writing an offer: choose this particular company and receive a seller paid title policy, which saves you x amount of money. Sounds great, right? A lot of people choose to go this route to save a couple of bucks because they don’t realize that escrow is the glue that holds everything together. Sometimes paying a little bit more is worth it to avoid three week closing delays or liens not showing up on title. As always, you are in the driver’s seat during a real estate transaction: don’t feel obligated to go with the escrow officer you are being pushed towards! Your agent will help you make the right decision for you.
Stay happy out there, friends!
Kim Parmon
Principal Broker | Earth Advantage Certified | OR
She/Her
Kim Parmon Principal Broker Lead Listing Agent Earth Advantage Certified | OR kim@livingroomre.com Oregon is the fifth state that Kim has called home in her life, and this one is sticking! After moving multiple times in her childhood, Kim fully understands how empowering homeownership and having roots is...
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