Lee Ginsburg

What is closing or escrow and what is involved in opening escrow?
October 21, 2011 · · 1 Comment

signing

Closing is when all the funds are disbursed to the seller, lender, other lien holders, taxes etc. and the property transfer from seller to buyer is recorded in the County’s Recorder’s office. This is legally when the buyer becomes the property owner. This is generally the time when the buyer receives the keys to their new home. Many people get the closing and signing confused. “Signing” is only signing the loan documents and that generally occurs several days prior to closing.

Escrow is the period between both parties signing the purchase contract and closing. Opening Escrow is a simple process. It occurs when the buyer’s good faith deposit is placed in the hands of a neutral third party. In Northern Californian we do this with a Title and Escrow Company. The Escrow Company holds the deposit in a bonded account until both the buyer and seller have fulfilled their obligations under the purchase contract. The escrow company is a neutral third party and will not release the funds either to the buyer if the contract is cancelled or to the seller if the contract is fulfilled unless both parties have signed instructions stating so. Basically Escrow begins with the deposit check being given to the escrow company and ends at closing.

Escrow should not get confused with an escrow account. An escrow account is an impound account or reserve account generally for property tax and home owners insurance. It is requested by lenders based on the type loan the buyer is getting.

It is Better To Own Real Estate and Wait Than to Wait to Own Real Estate

Lee Ginsburg
www.leesellsmore.com

Kathy Wall

Bank or Mortgage Broker? Who to Use?
October 5, 2009 · · 4 Comments

Where is the best place to get your home loan….a bank or a mortgage broker?   Over the course of my many years in real estate, I have waffled back and forth over this question.    Many times my decision on whom to refer would be based on the credit of my buyers.   If they were self employed, had a small down payment or not-so-good credit, I would usually suggest that they talk to a mortgage broker.    If they had excellent credit scores and a good down payment, I would usually suggest that they might be better off going directly to one of the major banks.

Now, after an incredibly negative experience with one of the largest banks operating here in California, I am leaning much more towards referring all clients to mortgage brokers, because I know that they will do the job and, most importantly, will actually care about my clients.  Read more

Shokoofeh Nowbakht

How much does it cost to make an offer?
October 2, 2008 · · Comment here

“How much does it cost to make an offer,” my first time home buyer asked.  Nothing, but you do need to write a check for up to 3% of the purchase price, made out to a title company of your choice. This is the “earnest money,” or “good faith money.” This is not a down payment, but just a deposit to secure the offer or contract to show how serious the buyer is. In the simplest words, by default, buyer has 17 days, unless otherwise stated in the contract, to cancel the contract and get their deposit back.