Escrow & Closing
Female Veteran Owned and Operated
Serving Citrus County and surrounding areas for over 35 years
About Escrow Services
What is an escrow account?
In the context of real estate transactions, an escrow account is an account held by a third, neutral party where everything pertaining the purchase-selling of the house is deposited. This includes money and deeds, as well as other documents.
What is an escrow agreement?
An escrow agreement is a document that contains and explains the terms and conditions that the parties involved in the transaction need to fulfill and how.
In the case of real estate, a buyer puts their earnest deposit in an escrow account while the seller provides the property title and other documents relevant to the transaction when the purchase agreement is signed. The escrow agent manages the escrow account.
What does the escrow agent do?
An escrow agent is either a person or an entity. They hold all relevant documents and funds in an account while all interested parties comply with their part of the purchase agreement.
About Closing the Purchase
What should I bring to the closing?
Depending on the type of property, the terms of your purchase agreement and loan, and state and local closing customs and rules, you should bring: acceptable photo identification i.e. state issued driver’s license; State Idenfification Card; Passport; Military I.D. – (if in doubt contact your Escrow Officer), funds, separation agreement or divorce order (if you’ve been married and are in the process of getting a divorce), along with any other document requested within the terms of the agreement signed.
We advise you to make a checklist with all of these documents. Ask your realtor or escrow agent if you have everything you need before the closing date. That way you won’t experience delays because of missing documents.
What should I expect at the closing?
Closings usually take place at the title and escrow company; the seller, the buyer, the real estate agents, and each party’s lawyer should be there along with the closing agent, the title agent, and the escrow agent, which in many cases are one company.
In order to transfer the property’s ownership, all legal documents need to be signed. Among these documents, we can mention the closing statement, the deed of trust, the mortgage note, affidavits from both seller and buyer. There might be some other documents depending on the nature of the transaction.
The buyer wires the proper amount to the title company; seller receives their proceeds directly from the title insurance company, the title company registers the new deed and lists the buyer as the new owner, closing costs are paid and the seller receives the earnest money held in the escrow account.
What is a statement of information?
The statement of information is used to avoid mistaking the interested party for others with similar names. Documents such as tax liens, judgments, bankruptcies, and others can be indexed by name and not with the property’s information. Regardless, these matters can affect the land and jeopardize property ownership in the future.
The statement of information helps the title agent rule out issues of public record that may come up because of name similarities.
How much money will I need for escrow at closing?
The amount of money needed for closing will be available when the loan documents are available and the escrow agreement drafted. You or your agent will be contacted by the title company to be informed on this amount.
How long will the closing process take?
Typically, real estate transactions can take between 30 to 45 days to close.
Reach Us
Stop by, give us a call or send an email
108 W Highland Blvd, Inverness, FL 34452
352-419-4599