Escrow Steps

1. Obtain a Pre-Qualification Letter from your Lender and Submit an Offer

2. Counter Offers Until Acceptance or Get an Acceptance on the First Try (Lucky You!)

3. Your Escrow Timeline Begins the Day After Acceptance and is Measured in Calendar, Not Business, Days

4. Submit a Loan Application with Your Lender (They will need as much time as possible, so it’s best if you can apply immediately so we don’t get held up at the end)

5. We Will Deposit Your Earnest Money Check to the Title Company and that Opens our Escrow

6. We Will Schedule Pest and Home Inspections (Typically the first week) We will discuss any further

inspections you may choose to conduct for the property, if necessary. (These could include: Well, Septic, Roof, or just about anything you would like to investigate further)

7. Your Lender will Schedule an Appraisal (necessary for the loan)

8. Attend Inspections and Review Inspection Reports (We will be there for all inspections. We encourage you to attend at least the last half hour of every inspection to meet the inspector and see any specific points he may wish to discuss. It also allows you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have)

9. You will have a lot of paperwork to submit to the lender throughout the process. This may include income documentation, tax records, and various other paperwork they may require. Just be prepared and please do your best to get it to them as quickly as possible. The loan process is one of the most key ingredients to the sale and the lender needs as much time as possible to complete all their paperwork so they can fund your new loan within our timeframe.

10. You also will be given quite a bit of real estate paperwork to sign throughout the escrow. We will coordinate everything to make sure it is all handled in a timely fashion and fully explained. We will make it as painless as possible, I promise!

11. Unless You Requested More Time, typically you will have 10 Days to Complete and Approve Your Property Inspections. At the end of the 10 days, we will have an opportunity to either approve the property, ask for repairs to be made, or cancel our escrow. We will discuss everything in full before completing this important step. If you are not satisfied with your inspections, we may request a time extension or ask the seller for a repair credit. The seller is not required to comply with either of those things, and further negotiation may be required.

12. After your inspection period, you are essentially waiting for your loan to process in order to close escrow. Often your lender will require a lot of documentation up front, then we will go through an underwriting process (basically a file audit). After the underwriting process, it’s very typical to have a couple of outstanding conditions to meet and/or additional paperwork that will be required. This usually will need to be submitted right away to still close escrow on time, and we’ll need to work together through this process and stand by to work quickly on any items required. Once everything is in order, you will be notified that you have Full Loan Approval. Then your lender starts drafting your loan documents and sends them to the title company.

13. Once the final loan papers come to the title company we will schedule a signing appointment. This could be anywhere from a week to a few days before the scheduled closing date. Your signing appointment should take about an hour. You will need to bring a picture ID, as you will be signing some notarized forms. Come prepared to sign a lot of papers!! If you ask nicely, they may give you a free pen.

14. The seller will sign their final escrow papers at another time and we will not meet them.

15. Your final deposit to complete the transaction may be wired to the title company or you may bring a cashier’s check to the title company in person. This will need to be there at least 24 hours before the escrow officially closes. Our escrow officer will calculate this total and notify you in plenty of time to get it there. Wire Instructions will also be provided in case you choose to wire the funds.

16. Once everything is signed, the last thing to happen is the transfer of your funds from the lender. These funds will go directly to the title company via a wire transfer. Once all the funds are at the title company, the deed will record at the county and you will officially own the house. Most recordings happen around 4pm and we will be notified typically by 5pm. Then we arrange to get you the keys to your new home!!



If you have any questions at all, please ask. No question is dumb! This is a very important purchase and you should fully understand everything that you sign and agree to. Your lender, escrow officer, and our office are all here to explain anything you may not understand. We know you don’t do this every day, so you aren’t expected to know it all. Be prepared for a test next time!