Real estate transactions, and the escrow processes that make them happen, sometimes have a level of industry jargon that can be confusing or intimidating to buyers and sellers who aren’t familiar with the meaning behind the words.
This is a definitional post designed to better inform buyers and sellers about the escrow process and the terminology [...]
The Buyer’s Choice Act (AB 957) was established to protect the buyer’s right in an REO transaction in having a choice as to which Escrow Company and Title Company is used. This sounds great, although in many cases it can be a benefit to the buyer to choose the companies that the REO Bank [...]
The New Year is here, you are ready to purchase a new home, what’s new?? The biggest and most significant industry change in years, maybe even decades, has come from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD has revised the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and the HUD-1 Settlement Statement to try and [...]
What is the Statement of Information?
Upon the opening of escrow, Buyers and Sellers receive their initial escrow package – the Statement of Information (also known as the Statement of Identity) is included in this package for completion and return to the escrow holder.
The statement of information is a one page document which requests the party’s [...]
The escrow process can be a complicated and often technical necessity of buying and selling real estate. The escrow company and its officer have many duties to juggle on behalf of the Realtor, Seller, and Buyer during the real estate transaction. Understanding the various duties and functions of the escrow can assist all parties in [...]
The typical real estate escrow requires the buyer to sign 70 – 120 pages of documents, several of which require notarization. The seller also will have to notarize, at the minimum, the grant deed. Notarization, or the act of an uninvolved witness (the Notary) verifying that the signor (the buyer or seller) is indeed who [...]
In these tough economic times, many homes have been languishing on the market, making it difficult for Sellers to move on to other homes and locations. In order to make a sale, a Seller can offer to do a “carryback”. A carryback loan, also known as a “seller carryback” or “seller’s second”, is a loan [...]
There are many implications of loans that are either “Assumptive,” or “Subject To.” Here is a general overview of some of the definitional differences between the two and how the differences affect the escrow process.
Assumption Loans:
The term “assumption” is used when a buyer incurs personal liability for an existing deed of trust. If the buyer [...]
A probate sale is defined as the sale of a property where the owner is deceased and the sale is being conducted by the deceased estate. An Administrator or Executor signs on behalf of the deceased person with either full or limited authority. Sometimes the deceased has a will. Sometimes they don’t. Although the escrow [...]
Recent headlines have proclaimed that California’s foreclosure crisis is a long way from over. First time home buyers, predicted to make up 55% of the market in 2010, are looking at REO’s as an affordable way to get into the market. That makes REO or ‘Real Estate Owned’ properties the hot ticket right now. These [...]
