Escrow for lenders and refinances

1. 01

   Step 1: Escrow opens

   The loan officer or the borrower calls us or sends the Open an escrow form.

2. 02

   Step 2: We ask for the payoff figures

   We send a written request to each lender being paid off. The law gives a lender up to 21 days to answer (Civil Code §2943), so we ask when the file opens.

   CheckedEvery payoff figure, before the loan funds.

3. 03

   Step 3: Title checks the records

   The title company searches the county records and lists every loan or other claim against the home that must be paid off or cleared.

4. 04

   Step 4: You sign the loan papers

   The lender sends its documents to us, and you sign them in front of a notary.

5. 05

   Step 5: The waiting period

   On a refinance of the home you live in, federal law usually gives you three business days after signing to cancel (Regulation Z, §1026.23). For this count, Saturdays are business days. Sundays and federal holidays aren’t (§1026.2).

   HeldNothing is paid out until the waiting period ends.

6. 06

   Step 6: Funding and recording

   The lender funds. The new deed of trust records with the county, and the old loans are paid off. You get a final statement.

   ReleasedThe old loans are paid from the new loan money.

To open, send the borrower’s name and phone number, the property address, the loan amount and your company’s name. Tell us when the rate lock ends, and we’ll plan the payoffs and the signing around that date.

Send the loan documents to the escrow officer on the file. If the loan amount or the terms change, tell us right away, so the closing figures stay right.