One escrow team for every kind of sale.

We handle resale homes and new-home tract sales, with FHA, VA or conventional loans or all cash.

Your escrow officer opens the file, orders the title report and payoff demands, balances the numbers with the lender and sets up the signings. When every condition is met, the deed records and we pay the people named in the instructions.

Each side pays its own escrow fee: $300 plus $2.15 per $1,000 of the price, and $1.75 per $1,000 on any part of the price above $2,000,000.

A refinance has no buyer or seller. We use the new loan to pay off the old one. The new deed of trust then records with the county.

For a single-family home, the escrow fee is one flat amount: $650 for loans up to $750,000, $850 up to $1,000,000 and $1,200 up to $2,000,000, plus $200 processing. Loans above $2,000,000 are quoted. Multi-family and commercial refinances are $95 plus $0.95 per $1,000 of the loan, with a $500,000 minimum.

On a refinance of your main home, federal law usually gives you 3 business days after signing to cancel. The loan funds after that time passes.

Homes at Leisure World Seal Beach are sold as co-op shares. The buyer receives a share or membership in the corporation that owns the property, instead of a deed to the unit.

The community must approve the buyer before the sale can close. It also has its own paperwork and fees. Our Leisure World escrow officer knows those steps and keeps the file moving with the community’s office.

If a family member or trustee is selling for the owner, bring the trust papers or power of attorney early. We check them well before signing day.

Many manufactured and mobile homes are titled with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) instead of the county recorder. Escrow checks the registration, clears any loans and taxes, and sends the transfer to the right agency.

If the home is in a park, the buyer usually needs the park’s approval before closing. We time the file so the approval, the payoff and the transfer come together.

A home converted to real property closes more like a house. We confirm how your home is titled when the file opens.

When the owner has died or a trust is selling, the executor, administrator or trustee signs for the seller. A sale through probate court may need a judge’s approval before it can close. Other buyers may be able to bid at that hearing.

We confirm who has authority to sign as soon as the file opens. Then we plan the escrow around the court’s calendar and collect the certified papers the title company needs.

The estate’s attorney handles the legal side. We stay neutral and can’t give legal advice to anyone in the sale.

A 1031 exchange lets an investor sell one property and buy another while putting off tax on the gain. A separate company called a qualified intermediary holds the sale money between transactions, so the investor never receives it.

Federal rules set firm deadlines: 45 days after the sale to identify the replacement property and 180 days to buy it, or less if your tax return comes due first. We plan the escrow around those dates and coordinate the papers and wires with your intermediary.

We can’t give tax advice, so talk with your tax adviser about whether an exchange fits your situation. 1031 processing is $250 on top of the regular escrow fee.

When a business is sold, California’s bulk sale rules give the seller’s creditors notice so they can file claims. We publish and record the required notice, then hold the money through the claim period. Valid claims are paid from the sale before the seller receives the rest.

When a liquor license is sold, state law requires an escrow. The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) must approve the transfer before escrow can close. We record and certify the notices ABC requires and can help set up the ABC application appointment.

We also handle franchise sales and other business escrows.

A holding escrow needs no sale. Two parties sign instructions that say exactly what we hold, what triggers its release and who receives it. We act only on those instructions. Any change needs both signatures.

People use them for repairs finished after closing, for money held until a permit or release comes through, or for payments on a note the seller carries.

The fee depends on what we hold and for how long. Call us for a quote.

You can buy or sell a home without agents. Escrow works the same way. We receive the deposit, order the title report and payoffs, prepare the documents for signing and record the deed.

Some things stay with you. The buyer and seller set the price and terms. The seller must give the buyer the required disclosures. We stay neutral, so we can’t negotiate for either side or write the contract. A real estate attorney can help with those.

The escrow fee uses the same published formula as any sale.

We handle sales of investment property and of commercial and industrial buildings. We also handle refinances of multi-family and commercial property.

Multi-family and commercial refinances are $95 plus $0.95 per $1,000 of the loan, with a $500,000 minimum. For a sale, ask your escrow officer to quote the file.

If the sale is part of a 1031 exchange, we coordinate the dates and the money with your qualified intermediary.