[Closing the Sale in [<%City%>|<%City%>, <%FullState%>|<%County%> County]|Escrow 101|[Buying Your Next [House|Place|Home|Property]|First-Time Home Buying]: Closing|What is Escrow?|What To Expect When You're Closing in [<%City%>|<%City%>, <%FullState%>|<%County%> County]|I'll Champion for You Through Closing|First-Time Home Buying: How To Close on a [House|Place|Home|Property]|Using an Escrow Agent|Completing the Transaction|The [House|Place|Home|Property] is Almost Yours|Steps to Closing on a [House|Place|Home|Property]]

Escrow
[When you're closing on your new [house|place|home|property], [an escrow company|an escrow agent|an escrow holder|a neutral, third party (known as the escrow holder or the escrow agent)] is used to [make sure|insure|assure|ensure|make certain|guarantee] the [process|transaction] will close [correctly|properly|appropriately|without problems] and [in a timely manner|on time|in a specific time frame|in a certain amount of time].|[An escrow company|An escrow agent|An escrow holder|A neutral, third party (known as the escrow holder or the escrow agent)] is [brought on|used|hired] to assure your [house|place|home|property] closes on time and the [transaction|closing process|process|money exchanging part of closing] goes smoothly.|To [complete|finish|finalize|close] the sale of a [house|place|home|property], a neutral, third party (the escrow [company|holder|agent]) is [employed|brought into the picture|engaged] to assure the [process|transaction] will close [correctly|appropriately|perfectly|properly] and on time.] [A [house|place|home|property] is said to be in escrow when in the [closing transaction|closing process], [funds|payment|money] is [secured|held] by a third party on behalf of [a buyer and a seller|two parties|two parties (in this case, a buyer and a seller)] when the [exchange of money takes|transaction is taking] place.|When [funds are|payment is|money is] held by a third party in a transaction between a buyer and a seller, it's in escrow.| Escrow [holders|agents|companies] hold money for "safe-keeping" in [a deal|transactions |an exchange] between a buyer and seller.] [[A simple|An easy|An everyday] way to [understand the concept of what|understand what|think of what] an escrow company does is to [compare it to|think of the use of|think of how you might use] PayPal for [online|Internet] purchases.|PayPal is [a good way to picture an|a simple way to think of an|a good example of an] escrow company.|For example, in [an online|a Web|an Internet] [purchase|transaction|auction], PayPal is the [secure|reliable|neutral] third party that [obtains|holds] the buyer's [payment|funds|cash|money], and then [sends|disburses|hands over] the [money|funds|payment] to the seller.]

[The escrow [company|agent|holder] makes sure that the terms and conditions of the agreement between the [seller and buyer|two parties|sellers and the buyers] are [reached|met|performed|completed] [prior to|in preparation of] the sale being [finished|completed|finalized].| The escrow [agent|company|holder] [makes sure|is careful to assure|insures] that all terms and conditions of the seller's and buyer's [contract|negotiated agreement|agreement] are [reached|met|performed|completed] prior to the sale being [completed|finalized|finished]. This includes [securing|getting|receiving] [monies|payments|funds] and [paperwork|certificates|records|documents], [filling out|finishing|signing|completing] required forms, and [getting|obtaining|seeking out] the release documents for any loans or liens that [were|have been|are to be] [paid|cleared|paid off] with the transaction, assuring you have a [clean|clear|free] title to your [house|home|place|property] before the [agreed upon|negotiated|final|asking|purchase] price is fully paid.| [Settling the last details|Tying up any loose ends|Clearing the final hurdles] like [taking in|receiving|obtaining] funds, [finishing|signing|completing] forms, [getting|obtaining|securing] the documents for loans and liens, and [making sure|assuring] you get a [clean|clear|spotless] title to the [home|house|property] [prior to|in preparation of|before] your purchase gets finalized are all [parts of closing in which an escrow [agent|company|holder] is useful|part of the job of the escrow [agent|company|holder]].]

	[[Purchasing|Buying|Choosing to buy] a [house|place|home|property] for the first time [gets confusing|can be intimidating|gets to feeling overwhelming|can be confusing]. [I can help|Let me help you].|Don't let [the unknown|inexperience with the real estate industry|real estate industry jargon] [prevent|keep|scare] you from becoming a homeowner. I can help you [become knowledgeable about|understand|work your way through] the process.|Whether it's your first [house|place|home|property] or your next [house|place|home|property], I'll [help|advise|walk|educate] you through the process.] [[Call me at <%Phone%> and I'll give [you more information|all the info you'll need to move forward|help you [purchase|obtain|buy|live in] the [house|place|home|property] you want].|Contact me and I'll [help you become|make sure you're] a [smart|empowered|well-informed|confident] buyer.|E-mail me at <%Email%> to get some free information.|E-mail me at <%Email%>.|Call me at <%Phone%>.|Contact me.]]

[The [pieces of paperwork|certificates|records|documents] the escrow [agent|company|holder] may [obtain|secure|collect] include:| Escrow [agents|companies|holders] [look for|want to obtain|want to acquire|collect|compile] the following [records|pieces of paperwork|documents|forms|legal documents]:| These are the [legal documents|pieces of paperwork|documents|records|legal forms] that escrow [companies|holders|agents] usually [look for|look to collect|compile]:] [<%Doc1%><%Doc2%><%Doc3%><%Doc4%><%Doc5%><%Doc6%>| <%Doc2%><%Doc3%><%Doc4%><%Doc5%><%Doc6%><%Doc1%>| <%Doc3%><%Doc4%><%Doc5%><%Doc6%><%Doc1%><%Doc2%>| <%Doc4%><%Doc5%><%Doc6%><%Doc1%><%Doc2%><%Doc3%>| <%Doc5%><%Doc6%><%Doc1%><%Doc2%><%Doc3%><%Doc4%>| <%Doc6%><%Doc1%><%Doc2%><%Doc3%><%Doc4%><%Doc5%>]

[Upon [finishing|completion] of all [portions|instructions] of the escrow, closing can take place.|Closing on the [home|house|property] [happens|takes place] when [the steps|all of the procedures] of the escrow are [done|complete|finished].|You're ready to close when [each step of the|all steps are|all parts are|every step is] [done|finished|complete] in escrow process.] [All [payments owed|outstanding payments|debts] and fees are [taken|collected] and [paid off|paid] at this time (covering expenses such as title insurance, inspections, real estate commissions).|At this time, all payments and [dues|fees] for inspections, title insurance and real estate commissions are [taken|paid out|collected].|All expenses like title insurance, inspections and real estate commissions are paid.] [Title to the [house|home|property] is then [given|transferred] to you as [new owner|new homeowner|now current homeowner|buyer] and [correct|appropriate|related] title insurance is issued as [noted|outlined] in the escrow [policy|instructions].|The [home's|house's|property's] title [goes|gets handed over|is given|gets transferred] to you and title insurance [begins|is issued] per the [policies|steps] of your [individual|particular] escrow [agreement|process].|You'll then [get|obtain|secure|receive] the title to the [home|house|property] and the title insurance gets [dispersed|issued] as [stated|noted|agreed upon|outlined] in the escrow instructions.]

[At the close of escrow, [payments are submitted|payment of funds shall be made|payments of funds are made|fees are paid|] in an acceptable form to the escrow.|When closing is [completely finished|finished|done|in it's last step|completed], you'll [submit a payment|pay the fees|make a payment] to the escrow [holder|company|agent].|The escrow [holder|company|agent] [receives a payment|gets a payment] [when the closing is complete|at the completion of closing].] [As your [agent|real estate agent|real estate professional|REALTOR], I'll [let you know what is an|inform you of the] acceptable [way of paying|form of payment].|I'll keep you [informed|up-to-date|updated] on [the procedure|the next steps|what comes next].|You'll know when it's time to submit the form of payment.]

The Escrow Holder Will:		The Escrow Holder Won't:
[Write|Prepare|Assemble] escrow [guidelines|instructions] [Petition|Request|Perform a] title [inquiry|research|search] [Comply with|Meet] [the bank's|lender's] [guidelines|standards|requirements] as [outlined|specified|written|noted] in the escrow agreement [Intake|Receive|Accept] [payments|funds] from the buyer Prorate [insurance, tax, interest and other payments|tax, interest, insurance and other fees|interest, insurance, tax and other payments] according to [guidelines|instructions] Record deeds and other [legal documents|paperwork|documents] as instructed [Obtain|Request] title insurance policy Close escrow when all [terms of agreement|instructions] of seller and buyer [are met|are complete|have been finished|have been met] Disburse [monies|payments|funds] and [finish|finalize] instructions		[Offer advice|Advise you|Give advice|Tell you what's best] - the escrow [agent|company|holder] [stays a neutral|has to remain an impartial|must maintain a neutral|stays at an impartial|must stay at a fair], third-party status [Give insight|Dispense opinions|Offer opinions] about [future tax estimations|tax implications|the outcome of your taxes]

Mortgage Escrow Account

[A Mortgage Escrow Account is [started|used|established] to [make payments for|pay] [recurring|rolling|on-going] [fees|expenses] while there is a loan on the house.|Often, to pay recurring costs while there's a loan on the house, a Mortgage Escrow Account is created.|Creating a Mortgage Escrow Account helps keep track of on-going expenses while there's a loan on your house.] [Generally, the Escrow Account is partially funded at closing and the home buyer makes on-going contributions through their monthly mortgage payment.|Usually, the home buyer makes a payment at closing and also makes regular deposits through their monthly mortgage payment to fund the Escrow Account.|Though most home buyers make payments via their monthly mortgage payment, Escrow Accounts are deposited into at closing as well.|Escrow Accounts are contributed to monthly by the home buyer (who is now the homeowner), but there is also a lump sum that goes into the account at closing.]

[Now you know more about [how to close on your future home|being in escrow]. And, you can be [a better informed|a smarter|a more confident|a more informed] home buyer and future homeowner.|Once [you're [at ease|comfortable|familiar] with the escrow process|you have the [rules|ABCs|basics] of the escrow process down], you can be a [confident|better|more assured|informed] buyer.|This is a [simple outline of|quick run-down of|easy to understand guide about] the escrow process. Your [specific|particular|individual] [process|methods|plan] [might|may|could|will] [be unique|vary|be different|be slightly different] [based on|depending on] your [bank|lender] and your escrow [company|holder|agent].]