No
matter where you’re buying a home, at some
point you’re going to find yourself
deep in escrow. (Don’t worry. It’s not
as bad as it sounds.)
What is
escrow?
In real estate, it has several meanings,
but they all boil down to your
house and your money being in a kind of
limbo.
Escrow
is when an impartial third party holds on
to something of value during a
transaction.
Escrow
and offers
When
you make an offer on a home, you will
write an earnest money check that will be
placed in “escrow.” That means it isn’t
going directly to the seller but is
being held by an impartial third party
until you and the seller negotiate a
contract and close the deal. You can’t
touch it and the seller can’t touch it.
It’s in escrow.
That’s
important because it protects both
parties. Say you put down earnest money
that
went directly to the seller and then
couldn’t reach a final purchase and sale
agreement. You don’t want the seller
holding your earnest money hostage as a
negotiating ploy. Likewise, the seller
won’t want to sign over the deed to the
home until you’ve paid for it. And you
won’t want to hand over cash without the
deed being signed. Escrow ensures everyone
gets what they are due at
essentially the same time.
Escrow
and lenders
When
you are talking with your mortgage lender,
you’ll hear about escrow again. They
might talk about an “escrow” or “impound”
account or “reserves.” They may use
these terms interchangeably, and that’s OK
because they all mean the same
thing. They are funds held by the lender
to make payments for your homeowners
insurance and property taxes. Lenders will
collect them monthly along with your
loan payment and then pay the tax and
insurance bills when they are due. That’s
because your lender has a vested interest
in making sure those payments are
made. You may hear the term “prepaids” as
well. That’s money collected in
advance for those bills to ensure they’ve
got enough on hand to pay them when
they are due.
Escrow
and closing
Finally,
you may hear someone refer to the “closing
of escrow.” That’s when your
purchase is completed. A closing or
“escrow officer” will oversee the final
paperwork and handle the exchange of funds
and recording of deeds. This person,
sometimes an attorney, will ensure that
all the money is properly disbursed,
that the documents are signed and
recorded, and that all necessary
conditions
are met before closing the escrow.
What is
a hold-back of
funds?
Sometimes
the sale may be completed and ownership
transferred while funds are still held
in escrow. For instance, if you’ve agreed
to let the seller’s family stay in
the house for an extra week until their
new home is ready, you would sign
a “rent-back” agreement requiring the
seller to pay you a daily rate for the
length of their stay. In the case of such
a rent-back, your real estate agent
will likely advise you to have the escrow
agent hold back a portion of the
seller’s proceeds until they’ve moved out
and left the house in the condition
specified in your contract.
Or
perhaps you found something wrong
during your final walkthrough of the
house. Maybe the seller agreed to make the
repair, but the work couldn’t be
completed by closing day. Money can be
held in escrow to cover the cost.
If
you’re purchasing new construction, you
may have funds held in escrow until all
work is complete and you’ve signed off on
it.
Once
escrow is closed and all funds have been
disbursed, you and the seller will
receive a final closing statement and
other documents in the mail. Check the
statement carefully and call the closing
agent immediately if you spot an
error. File the statement with your most
important papers. You’ll need it when
you file your next income tax return.
Escrow
Service details and
price
If you are interested in
sale-purchase of
real property, vehicles and securities or
secure any kind of upfront payment (for
example, upfront payment for investment
agreements, payments for investors or
lenders), the United Kigdom Guarantee
Company ESCROW account makes the
transaction safe and comfortable.
The
service is simple:
•
Based on this public
offering the buyer (or
Borrower in case of investment agreement)
place the transaction sum to an ESCROW
account with United Kingdom Guarantee
Company (UKGC) and send to UKGC Email
scan of Agreement which must to be
executed by Seller
(Investor/Lender);
•
The UKGC settles the legal
formalities;
•
Upon execution of a
contract and on
condition of meeting its obligation, the
sum in full will be paid to the Seller
(Investor/Lender);
•
In case of default, the
buyer will not
lose the money – money will be returned to
Buyer’s account.
ESCROW
service
advantages:
•
Secure and mutually
guaranteed trade and
investment transaction;
•
Small service
commission;
•
Convenient payment
term;
ESCROW
service
conditions:
•
Purpose
◦
Real
property sale-purchase
◦
Vehicle
sale-purchase
◦
Sale-purchase
of securities (shares, stock etc.)
◦
Guarantee
for Borrower fulfilment by Lender
(Investor) of Investment/Loan Agreement
and obtain investment or
loans
•
Account currency - USD/EUR
•
Account term
◦
Min
- 1 day
◦
Max
- 24 months
•
Amount - unlimited
SERVICE
FEE
Transaction of over 5
working days
|
0.2% - 1% (min. 50
USD, max 10,000 USD)
|
Transaction of 5
working days or a shorter term
|
up to 200,000 USD
|
50 USD
|
200,001$ and more
|
0.05% (min. 100
USD, max 10,000 USD)
|
For more
information, please Email us to: