| An escrow company is a neutral third party who holds the documents and money in a real-estate transfer until all conditions are met. They provide real estate settlement escrow services for Realtors®, Lenders and the general public in the selling, buying or mortgaging of real estate in Southern California.
When your purchase contract is accepted by all parties involved, then your deposit check is endorsed over to the escrow company to open an escrow for your transaction. This is typically handled by your Realtor®. Then, you are assigned an Escrow Officer, who acts as a neutral third party in your purchase. He or she will compile your contractual agreements into Escrow Instructions which will be sent out to both parties in the transaction, the buyer and the seller. The Realtors also receive a copy. Review these instructions with the purchase contract. If you see a misspelling, call your Escrow Officer. Sign the instructions and return them back to the escrow company within 5 days of receiving them. Along with your escrow instructions will be a Confidential Statement of Information form. This form enables the title insurance company to ensure the successful transfer of title. It covers where you have lived in the past 10 years along with other information so the title company can perform title search. Here are some of the other documents that you will receive in your package: Quick Escrow Tip: review your documents, fill them out and sign off on them when you receive them. | 
