For agents · All of California
Escrow for real estate agents
Once the signed purchase contract reaches us, we open escrow for your buyer or your seller. We handle escrows in Tustin and North Tustin, the rest of Orange County, the San Gabriel Valley and anywhere else in California. We stay neutral and follow the written instructions both sides sign. As the file moves, we keep you posted.
What do you need from me to open escrow?
The signed contract is enough to open the file. Send the rest when you have it.
To open the file
- The purchase agreement signed by both sides, with each counter offer and addendum
- Names, phone numbers and emails for the buyers and the sellers
- Your contact details and the other agent’s, plus any transaction coordinator’s
- The loan officer’s name and company, if the buyer has a loan
Good to send early
- The seller’s mortgage lenders, so we can ask each one for a payoff figure
- The homeowners association and its management company, if there is one
- Whether any solar panels on the house are owned, leased or financed
- A trust or an estate on the seller’s side, or a 1031 exchange on either side
To open, call (714) 544-6525 or send our Open an escrow form.
How will I hear how the file is going?
We keep both agents up to date as the file moves, so your client can hear the news from you first.
| When | What we tell you |
|---|---|
| Escrow opens | The escrow number and the name of your escrow officer |
| The deposit arrives | That the buyer’s deposit is in escrow |
| The title report comes in | Anything on title that has to be paid off or cleared before closing |
| The papers are ready to sign | When and where your clients sign |
| All the money is in | That the file is ready to record |
| The deed records | That the sale has closed, so the keys can change hands |
Want the updates sent another way, or copied to your transaction coordinator? Tell us when the file opens.
Where does escrow’s job end?
Under California law, escrow means money or papers left with a third party until set conditions are met, then passed on (Financial Code §17003). That third party takes no side. We do what both sides’ signed instructions say.
Escrow does
- Holds the deposit, and every dollar after it, until closing
- Follows the written instructions both sides sign
- Works with the title company and the lender
- Pays everyone at closing and sends final statements
Escrow doesn’t
- Take a side when the buyer and the seller disagree
- Give legal or tax advice
- Change the terms unless both sides sign
- Hand over the keys or set the move-in date
The escrows we handle
Each kind has its own page, with the steps and the law behind them.
- Home sales Seven steps from the signed contract to the recorded deed
- Business sales For owners selling or buying a going business
- Bulk sales The public notice, creditor claims and payoffs
- Liquor license transfers Transfers through the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
- 1031 exchanges Your sale and purchase escrows, timed for the exchange
- Refinances Payoffs, signing and funding for a new loan
- Trust and probate sales Sales by an executor, trustee or conservator
- Mobile homes The state title, county taxes and the park’s approval
Questions agents ask us
What will escrow cost my buyer or my seller?
We quote it by phone. Call us at (714) 544-6525 with the price and the property address, and we’ll give you the escrow fee for each side. The contract decides who pays which fee.
Who pays for the notary?
Our concierge service often covers the cost of the notary. Ask your escrow officer about it when you set up the signing.
What should my clients do before they wire money?
Call us first. Give them this line: “Before you send any money, call us at (714) 544-6525 and confirm the wiring instructions by phone.” Tell them to dial the number printed here, not one they got by email or text. An email with new or changed wiring instructions is a warning sign. A familiar sender doesn’t make it safe, because real email accounts can be taken over.
Do you give my clients legal or tax advice?
No. Escrow stays neutral and doesn’t advise either side. For legal or tax questions, your clients should talk to an attorney or a tax adviser.
Sources and fine print
- California Financial Code §17003: what an escrow is
- California Department of Real Estate, Reference Book chapter 8: escrow and the neutral escrow holder
- California Department of Real Estate: escrow information for consumers (who pays is agreed between the parties)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation: how business email compromise scams work
Sources checked September 2026. Page updated . General information, not legal or tax advice.