How To Ensure a Great Closing Transaction:

There are always many different ways of doing things, and this is especially true in the Real Estate Industry. One thing rings true for all of us though, and that is we want to ensure a great closing transaction which helps to build a better relationship with our customers.

Often times, the escrow part of the Real Estate transaction is the most challenging part. This is usually where information ends its journey, and needs to be put into the closing statements as the hub of activity between brokers, agents, lender, buyers and sellers , and title.  This is also the area of greatest concern for everyone as now the transaction becomes "time critical"

Here are a few important things to remember when in the Escrow Process:

1. Try to get escrow set up as soon as possible. Many times brokers and agents will hesitate a bit before they set up escrow in hopes they will have better information available, and will be able to accomplish everything with one swipe of the pen. This can possibly hold up your transaction because escrow did not receive the amount of time needed to order payoffs, obtain written authorizations from buyers/sellers, order title, and begin the title clearing process. The surest way to cause potential problems is to hold onto your setup information until the Docs have been ordered, and expect everything to magically happen in escrow.

2. Understand what escrow does. There are many factors to the work done in escrow. Delays are a huge part of our business as the lending institutions, banks, and title companies work on a first come first served basis. Now to add to the delay, many lenders do not provide payoff information for a full 10 days making this process even more time critical.

3. Provide as much information at setup time as possible. Since escrow is a third party in the real estate transaction, it is always helpful for us to have as much constructive notice on a transaction as possible. For instance, about 80 percent of all transactions we close involve one party being out of town during some portion of the transaction. This is important information. Escrow can and will work around many schedules, but need to have advanced notice of these things.

4. Delays are inevitable, be patient. Very few real estate transactions sail right on through without a single glitch or delay. Usually, they are minor, and do not affect any aspect of the closing. However, there are so many factors that arise during escrow that surprise everyone. Patience and diligence will help provide a great closing under any circumstance that may arise.

In the coming weeks I will be adding more information to this list. If you have any comments, or would like to add an item, let me know.