5 Tips for Choosing the Right Escrow Company

Selling and buying a home can be an overwhelming process for anyone. Luckily, there are escrow companies out there that can make this process easier for you by walking you through the process, valuing your time, and being transparent!

Choosing the right escrow company for you may take a bit of time and research, but it is very important. If you don’t choose the right escrow company, there can be a lot of uncertainty about how your money and property are being handled, which can lead to unnecessary stress. Here are some great escrow tips on how to choose the right escrow company for you!

Importance of a Good Escrow Company

First, let’s start off with why choosing a good escrow company is so important.

The escrow company you choose is going to be with you throughout the entire escrow process. They will be responsible for collecting all the funds and documents that are required in the home closing process. This includes protecting your funds, following important instructions, and understanding the process details for all parties.

So, as you can see, the company you choose plays a very important role. Therefore, you must ensure that you trust the company you choose to meet certain deadlines, protect your assets, and follow instructions, on top of other important qualities.

Qualities of a Good Escrow Company

Here are some important qualities to look for in an escrow company:

They value your time
They are fully transparent with you
The entire staff has expertise and is able to handle different escrow accounts

These qualities are very important because the last thing you want is to end up being unsure of how your money and property are being handled during one of the biggest transactions of your life.

Here are 5 escrow tips on what to look for when choosing the right company for you!

1. Reputation Matters

It is very important to look for an escrow company with a good reputation. You should do the proper research to find a company that is highly rated, has great reviews, is recommended by others, and who is ethical.

One easy and effective way to research about a company’s reputation is by reading customer reviews on different websites. Current and past clients are usually very honest about their experience. After reading a good amount of reviews, you will have a good idea of the reputation of different escrow companies.

2. Choose a Similar Communication Style

The escrow company you choose should have a similar communication style as yourself. You should look for a company that is quick to respond, presents information clearly, is straightforward, and is transparent.

Companies that have these communication characteristics are usually a better choice than those who deliver vague information and slow response times.

New Venture Escrow’s VentureTrac 4.0 mobile app allows users to securely message their agents, receive real time updates as soon as tasks are complete, and keep track of who has received and signed important documents. They also provide a complete contact list of everyone involved in your escrow so you can email or call them whenever you need to.

3. Resources and Experience are Important

You should choose an escrow company that has many resources and a staff with years of experience. To research this, you can call the office to ask whatever questions you have.

You can ask them to tell you about their experience in this field along with any questions you can think of to determine if they meet your standards in a company.

VenturTrac 4.0 provides many resources straight from the app, including net sheets, documents, and task lists. We also have an entire section dedicated to resources and our experienced team on our website.

4. Location of the Company Office is Important

Be sure to choose an escrow company that serves in the area in which you are making a real estate transaction. You need to ensure the company you choose is familiar with the real estate market in the area you are doing the transaction. Many counties and states have slight differences in the way real estate transactions are done.

For example, the escrow process in California differs between Northern and Southern California as well as between counties. In Northern California, title companies handle closings through escrow, while escrow companies handle them in Southern California.

Also, in Southern California the sellers pay the title insurance and transfer tax while the buyer and seller split the escrow fees. However, in some Northern California counties, the buyer and sellers split the title insurance and escrow fees, while in other counties the sellers pay 75% and buyers only pay 25%.

Each county in California also has its own transfer tax, some have their own additional charges, and some differ in the time it takes to close on a house. For example, the average days to close on a house in San Diego is 55 days, compared to the national average of 30-45 days.

So, make sure you choose a company that is familiar with all these slight differences per area.

5. Compare Prices with Other Companies

Lastly, you should compare prices between different escrow companies to ensure you get the best deal.

Most escrow companies should show their base price on their website, so you can compare different companies. However, there are other fees on top of the base price that contribute to the overall cost. So, if you have further questions about prices, you should directly call and ask.

You should be familiar with the costs associated with the real estate transaction, the title insurance, escrow service fees, etc. The escrow companies that can easily communicate these costs are worth considering.

Once you consider each of these tips and conduct research, you will be ready to choose the right escrow for you!

Get started With New Venture Escrow

Here at New Venture Escrow, we check off all the important qualities to look for in an escrow company. We are heavily committed to creating a convenient and transparent escrow process for all of our clients.

We also make the escrow process even easier by integrating technology! Our mobile app, VentureTrac 4.0, allows us to provide digital escrow services to our clients.

Our VentureTrac 4.0 app can help facilitate the real estate process by: