Selling Your Los Angeles Home Part 4. The Escrow Process

This is the fourth part of the series on Selling your Los Angeles home, in which we will go over what is involved in the escrow process.

What is escrow?  Simply put, escrow is the handling of the contract by a neutral party which will ensure that the terms of the contract are met by both sides and all monies will be disbursed by them upon satisfactory fulfillment of the contract by both parties.

If you are selling your home in Los Angeles you will need to go through the escrow. Lawyers are not part of closing on a home in our market. Below is an overview of what to expect during the escrow process.  There are a number of contingencies that need to be met by both buyer and seller.  Default by either can result in cancellation of the contract:

Buyer contingencies:

  • Part of the offer will include putting down a good faith deposit (GFD) in the amount of 3% of the total purchase price, and this amount will need to be in the escrow company’s hands within 3 days of contract signing.  The GFD is applied to purchase price and will be refunded if the buyer backs out of the contract for a valid reason, before removal of all contingencies.  If the buyer is found at fault, then this deposit can be forfeited to the seller.
  • A qualified home inspector will conduct a thorough investigation of the property. Generally the buyer and their agent are expected to be present during the inspection, but your agent will also be there. When finished, the inspector will  generally provide a verbal report.  A full report will be sent later that day or the next, to both the buyer, and per the Purchase Contract, to the seller’s agent.
    • If there is nothing wrong with the home, then the buyer will remove the inspection contingency, which means they can no longer cancel the contract for physical conditions, unless something really unusual surfaces during the escrow period.
    • The inspector almost always suggests that the buyer conduct additional inspections for things like the chimney, foundation, air-conditioning, plumbing, etc  if they cannot determine the condition themselves.  In this case, the buyer’s Realtor® will order those inspections as quickly as possible.  In many cases the buyer will conduct a sewer inspection. The seller should be provided with a copy of those inspections also, per the contract.
    • The next step will be that the buyer  may put together a Request for Repairs to submit to the seller.  Generally these will refer to the more costly items which the buyer would like paid for by tor handled by the seller.  At this time the clock on the contingency period stops and the ball is in the seller’s court.
  • The seller may agree to the terms of the Request for Repair, they may negotiate them, or they may refuse them.  At this point if the buyer does not want to continue with the process then they may request cancellation of the contract.  If  terms are agreed upn they will remove the inspection contingency.
  • If the property is a single family home not part of a homeowners’ association, then pretty much all the buyer has left now is the appraisal and the loan approval. The standard for these is 17 and 21 days respectively. Sometimes this process goes on a little longer and the buyer will request an extension.
    • The appraisal will be conducted by the lender at the buyer’s expense. If the property appraises then there is no problem.  If it doesn’t then the buyer has the option to ask the seller to lower the price, pay the difference themselves, or equest cancellation of the contract.  Without one of the first two options the buyer is not going to be getting loan approval.
    • If all goes well and the loan is approved, the buyer will  remove the loan and appraisal contingency.  At this point they basically have bought the home.
  • Until the seller has met his or her contingencies, then the buyer can still request cancellation of the contract even if they have met all theirs.

Seller contingencies:

  • The seller has 7 days to deliver all the disclosures relevant to the property many of which are standard California Association of Realtors forms.  The most important of these will be the Transfer Disclosure Statement  and Seller Property Questionnaire (not provided with foreclosures, nor generally with probates and trust sales) which will point out all the facts known by the seller; the Natural Hazards Report, showing anything and everything to do with the property and surrounding area; the Preliminary Title Report, which will show any defects on title if any.
  • If the property is a condominium or there is a homeowners association, then the seller is required to request the covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) of the community from the Board or management company.  The buyer reviews these and, should there be something of concern, then the they can opt to request cancellation of the contract.
  • There are several reports that must be provided by the seller as mandated in the contract. The Realtor® will supply many of the reports that are required and guide the seller on the forms they are going to have to complete.
  • If agreed upon in the contract the seller must provide a one-year home warranty for the buyer. Often the buyer’s agent will order this.
  • There are certain requirements mandated by the city in which the property is located.  Los Angeles has retrofitting requirements such as low-flow toilets, water heating bracing, gas shut-off valves, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors.

If one side fails to comply with their part of the contract then the other side can issue a Notice to Perform. Failure to do so can result in a request to cancel the contract.  In order to cancel a contract, both sides need to sign.

If everything goes smoothly, then once the loan has funded and the title company has received the funds, they will go down to the County Recorder’s Office (usually the next day) and record the change of title.

Escrow closes, and title changes hand to the new owner.

Selling a Home in Los Angeles:  The Series:

Step 1:  Hire a Los Angeles Realtor®

Step 2:  Get ready to list

Step 3:  Handle the offer(s)

Step 4:  The escrow process

Step 5:  Prepare to move

 

Need Help? Have questions? Fill out the CONTACT FORM or call Jane at 310-351-9208

Leave a Comment

Scroll to Top