First, a little about "escrow". To finish the sale of a property, a neutral, third party (the escrow holder) is brought into the picture to assure the process will close correctly and on time. Escrow companies hold money for "safe-keeping" in transactions between a buyer and seller. For example, in an Internet purchase, PayPal is the neutral third party that obtains the buyer's cash, and then sends the payment to the seller.
Clearing the final hurdles like receiving funds, signing forms, obtaining the documents for loans and liens, and making sure you get a clean title to the home prior to your purchase gets finalized are all part of the job of the escrow holder.
These are the legal forms that escrow companies usually look to collect:
- Terms of sale and any seller-assisted financing
- Requests for payment for various services to be paid out of escrow funds
- Loan documents
- Tax statements
- Fire and other insurance policies
- Title insurance policies
You're ready to close when every step is finished in escrow process. All debts and fees are taken and paid at this time (covering expenses such as title insurance, inspections, real estate commissions). Title to the property is then given to you as now current homeowner and related title insurance is issued as noted in the escrow instructions.
When closing is in it's last step, you'll submit a payment to the escrow agent. As your REALTOR, I'll let you know what is an acceptable form of payment.